Don Knotts, good god do I find him hysterical. He deliverers great facial expressions; has a likable personality; has a memorable high pitched voice; and his comedic timing is always on the money. We all know him best as Barney Fife on the classic TV show "The Andy Griffith Show"; we remember his great comedies such as "The Ghost And Mr.Chicken" and "The Reluctant Astronaut"; we remember him as the landlord in "Three's Company"; we've heard his voice in various cartoons; and he's made short appearances on countless TV shows and films. While he's made short appearances on film before and during "The Andy Griffith Show", his first major motion picture as the star is actually a live action animated movie called...
Don Knotts plays a man named Henry Limpet, who can't join the war due to his bad eyesight, but hopes to one day serve his country. However, what he really obsesses over is fish. He studies them; owns a big fish tank full of them; brings them to work with him; hangs around the Pet Shop; and on top of it, believes that fish have a better life than people, which makes him wish that he were a fish. One day his wish comes true and he becomes a fish. So you think that maybe this will be a little fish adventure where Henry learns that being a fish is not easy right? Actually, no, he decides to help the military navigate U-Boats and destroy them and that's where I lose interest in the plot. It sounds cool, and it is cool and kickass seeing Don Knotts take down Nazi Submarines, but for a kids film, I don't know, maybe a plot like that during the World War 2 era may sound interesting and understandable, but for a film that has a comedic legend turning into a fish in a kids movie where the war is more than a decade behind, it not only closes the door for every possibility, but it just sounds so bizarre!
So I'm sure you're wondering if Don Knotts is funny in the film? After all, he's a nerdy guy who obsesses over fish and then becomes a fish which leads us into animation, which of course can lead to many comedic possibilities. Well, sadly this is a Don Knotts film that's not even close to being funny. As a human, he doesn't use any of his Don Knotts humor, he's just nerdy and the jokes they give him on how he obsesses over fish is for the most part unfunny. As a cartoon fish, they give him no comedy at all, which is odd since they try to make him funny when he's a human and decide to make him not funny when he's a fish and that's a huge downer. Ok, he has a few fish mating innuendo jokes, but those are more lame and desperate than funny. By the way, and I hate to sound nitpickey, but if what ever magic turned him into a fish and gave him a loud thrum, how come it didn't improve his eyesight? As a matter of fact, how do those glasses even stay on him when he's both a fish and a human? Well with the bad comments aside, I will give the film credit for giving Don Knotts his start in voice acting, which he does a great job here. While not being funny in this film, his character and performance is still very likable. I'll also admit this, he does sing a little bit in the film and while he's no singer, he does bring bit a of charm to it. So while not being funny, he still brings that likable personality that we love from Don Knotts.
The human supporting characters are ok. Jack Weston as Henry's friend George Stickle is likable and his reactions to when he sees Henry as a fish are priceless. However, while I enjoy this character I don't really find him all that amusing. I just feel a bit of blandness from him. Carole Cook as Henry's wife Bessie is perfect as this annoyed wife who can't stand her husband's obsession, but I like that the film doesn't decide to make her a complete jerk by giving her a bit of a likable personality. Speaking of an annoyed wife, is it just me or do I feel a bit of a connection to "The Twilight Zone" episode "Time Enough At Last" with Burgess Meredith as the bookworm. His name is Henry; he wears glasses and loses them later on; he has a big obsession over a hobby; he brings his obsession with his hobby to work with him; he has an annoyed wife that hates his obsession; and towards the middle of the story he gets his wish. I'm not saying the film ripped it off, but I wouldn't be surprised if some inspiration came out of it. Getting back to the supporting characters. Larry Keating (In his last film) as the Admiral who mistakes George's last name with Pickle instead of Stickle, isn't amusing. This is also Charles Meredith's last film, who plays the Fleet Admiral, and despite some maybe one or two brief funny moments, he's very forgettable. The villains are over the top Nazi's as funny as they can be with their exaggerated accents and mannerisms, they're not anything special or memorable.
Now for the animated supporting characters. To be honest, we only get two. Yeah, no underwater villain, not much other fish for Henry to meet with, we only get two animated supporting characters that's it. What a let down! First, we have Crusty the Hermit Crab voiced by the great voice actor Paul Frees and he's a riot. I love that he's an old cranky crap who never lightens up; I love watching him and Knotts together; and I love his nasty comments and lack of knowledge that Henry has. He's just an all around fun character and I still get a laugh out of him as an adult. Finally, we have the love interest Ladyfish voiced by Elizabeth Macrae (Who also appeared on "The Andy Griffith Show"). She does bring charm to her character, but I feel like that there was no need for her. I felt like the writers felt like that they had to put a love interest and a forbidden love story to give the film more time. Maybe it would work if it wasn't focused on war, but sadly it doesn't. There's very, very little chemistry between the two which doesn't work or feel all that enchanting, her character is just a bland love interest nothing more, and we see so little of her and focus so little on the relationship that the whole love subplot becomes entirely forgettable.
The live action segments in the film start out entertaining, but once we get to when Henry joins the war, not only does the film stop being interesting, but we're showered with so much stupid and unfunny dialogue that we barely get to see more of Henry's life as a fish. The animated segments are what has really held this film up. The fish designs are fun (especially the design for Knotts as a fish); it's colorful as well as being dark; the scene when Henry turns into a fish is cool; and the combination of live action and animation does look convincing at times. The film does have songs in it and while giving the film its mood and charm, they're not that memorable and just like the love subplot, it felt like they just putted songs in the film to just have songs. The only two songs I enjoyed and find somewhat memorable were "I Wish I Were A Fish" and "Be Careful How You Wish", that's it.
While not being a bad movie, it's certainly not Don Knotts's funniest. The plot is so bizarre that it throws away plenty of opportunities, and is a bit too political and dark for a kids film. The supporting characters are OK; the songs are nice, but forgettable; and the animation as well as combining it with live action is good. Overall, it's a film that has both good things and bad things and it's a film that people will love or hate.
RATING 3/5
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