Don Knotts, the Emmy-winning actor who rose to fame on The Andy Griffith Show, launched his starring career in movies with this 1964 family comedy that mixes animation and live action. He was still a regular on the popular series when he signed to star as a henpecked bookkeeper, too frail for World War II service, who's transformed into a fish with a special "thrum" power, a roar capable of taking out the enemy. Although it received only mixed reviews, the film developed a strong fan following that continues to this day. It also caught the eye of Universal Pictures President Lew Wasserman, who signed Knotts to a long-term contract that forced him to leave The Andy Griffith Show in 1965. The films he made for Universal - including The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), The Reluctant Astronaut (1967) and The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968) - were hits that continue to attract a strong cult following.

Although the film marked a major beginning for Knotts, it also marked the end of the Warner Bros. Animation Department. The studio that created such enduring favorites as Bugs Bunny, Road Runner and Pepe Le Pew had to abandon doing animation in-house because of rising costs and diminishing demand for cartoon shorts to screen along with feature films. After 1966, the studio would farm out its animated shorts to Depatie-Freling Enterprises, creators of the Pink Panther cartoons, then give up theatrical animation altogether in 1969.

Just because Warner's was dismantling its animation department, though, it didn't mean they skimped on The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Producer John C. Rose was something of a perfectionist who went through several animators before he got the look he wanted for Knotts' naval alter ego. Although former Disney employee Bill Tytla was credited as animation director, he left the film early in the production process because of failing health and constant quarrels with Rose. Most of the work was supervised by Robert McKimson, who had started with Disney, but had moved to Warner Bros. in the early '30s. He had animated several of the most beloved Bugs Bunny cartoons, including "Gorilla My Dreams" (1948) and "What's Up, Doc?" (1950).

Perfectionism would dog attempts to remake The Incredible Mr. Limpet as well. In the late '90s, a new version was announced, with Knotts' blessing, as a vehicle for Jim Carrey. After spending about $10 million on animation tests using motion-capture techniques to give the fish Carrey's face, with less than satisfactory results, the project was dropped. Talk of a remake has continued with Carrey and Robin Williams both mentioned as stars. More recently, Zach Galifianakis has been attached to a version due to start production in 2014.

By Frank Miller