The Incredible Mr. Limpet

The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a 1964 American film that mixes live-action with animation, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and adapted from Theodore Pratt's 1942 novel *Mr. Limpet*. The story centers on Henry Limpet, a timid bookkeeper who transforms into a talking fish and helps the U.S. Navy find and sink Nazi submarines. Don Knotts portrays the title character. Arthur Lubin directed the live-action portions, while Bill Tytla, Robert McKimson, Hawley Pratt, and Gerry Chiniquy handled the animation at Warner Bros. Cartoons. Sammy Fain and Harold Adamson wrote songs for the film, including "I Wish I Were a Fish," "Be Careful How You Wish," and "Deep Rapture." Critics gave the movie mixed reviews. It was the last project completed at Warner Bros. Cartoons before the studio shut down in May 1963.

The plot begins in 1963, with naval officer George Stickle and Admiral Harlock discussing unusual behavior in porpoises, suspecting that former secret asset Henry Limpet may be teaching them. A flashback to September 1941, before Pearl Harbor, shows Henry Limpet as a shy bookkeeper who loves fish and wishes to become one. His friend George Stickle serves as a machinist's mate in the Navy. Henry's wife Bessie is strongly patriotic, but when Henry tries to enlist, he is rejected as 4F due to poor eyesight and other issues. During George's leave, the trio visits Coney Island, where Henry falls into the water and inexplicably turns into a fish. Bessie and George assume he drowned.

As a fish, Henry keeps his pince-nez glasses and discovers a powerful underwater roar he calls his "thrum." He befriends Crusty, a grumpy hermit crab, and falls in love with a female fish he names Ladyfish, despite being married. After Pearl Harbor, Henry guides a Navy convoy to a German U-boat. He contacts the convoy and asks to see George, who helps Henry get commissioned by the Navy with an advanced rank and salary, which he sends to Bessie. Henry uses his thrum to locate Nazi submarines, aiding the Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. In his final mission, the Nazis develop a thrum-seeking torpedo, and Henry loses his glasses. He survives by using Crusty as a navigator and redirects torpedoes to sink U-boats. After the battle, he swims to Coney Island to say goodbye to Bessie, who gives him new glasses, and then swims off with Ladyfish.