9. The Incredible Mr Limpet
Eagle-eyed viewers of The Little Mermaid might well have noticed one fish wearing spectacles in the scene captured above, and though this might have been dismissed as a quirk of a world where a crab sings and merpeople actually exist, it seems the blink and you'll miss it cameo is a nod to another famous movie fish. Or more specifically, the character who voiced him. Though fantastical fish tale The Incredible Mr Limpet was not made by Disney, the Mouse House wanted to pay tribute to actor Don Knotts (now famously introduced to a new audience thanks to Family Guy and "too many ostriches") who starred in such Disney fare as Hot Lead and Cold Feet and the Apple Dumpling Gang. The man to fish story of Mr Limpet fits the Little Mermaid narrative, and Knotts was obviously enough of a cherished actor in the halls and corridors at Disney to qualify for the rather atypical non-Disney Easter Egg treatment. And for anyone doubting that the bespectacled fish is actually the Limpet in question, the beloved character also appears hidden in the background of Ariel's Undersea Adventure at California Adventure, proving beyond doubt that Disney have a soft spot for the character...
