The House Builder-Upper

The House Builder Upper (1938)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Popeye and Wimpy are volunteer firefighters who are rushing to the scene of a fire. Once there they realize it's Olive Oyl and her house is a complete loss so they decide to build her a new one.

THE HOUSE BULDER-UPPER is a very, very rare Popeye short in regards to the lack of violence. The series is loved by so many because of the fast-action and often violent fights that would break out but that is missing here. Instead of fighting we're given some pretty fun and creative scenes of Popeye and Wimpy trying to build a house without too much success. One highlight is when Wimpy pants himself into a corner and has to find a way out of the house. Another fun moment happens when Wimpy builds a door that's led into a brick wall. Fans of the series will enjoy the musical nature and charm of this short.

This is another of those unusual Popeye cartoons in which there is no Bluto and no fisticuffs.....just a story of trying to build a house.

It begins with Popeye and Wimpy - "The Volunteer Firemen" - arriving too late to save Olive's house. All that is left is a bathtub sticking up in the air on the second story. Olive and her pets are on the front steps sobbing their eyes out. Her man, however, comes to rescue by volunteering to build her a new house. The three begin immediately. (Olive is actually helping, and so is Wimpy - in between bites on his unlimited supply of hamburgers.)

We then witness the strange way the crew goes about trying to build this house. (If only wallpapering was as easy as it is portrayed here.) It's laugh-out-loud material but it's continually humorous with a couple of twists at the end. Overall, the best parts were some of the drawings in here and the sight gags of these "house builders."

Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.

'The House Builder-Upper' is not quite classic Popeye the Sailor. It is still very well done and never less than very funny if not quite hilarious. Have always enjoyed many of the Popeye cartoons a good deal and like Popeye very much, Fleischer's efforts were always well animated and scored with lots of entertainment value and great chemistry between Popeye, Olive Oyl and Wimpy. 'The House Builder-Upper' has much of makes the Popeye series so appealing in its prime era and does nothing to waste the three main characters or make them less interesting.

The story is an interesting and beautifully paced one, never being dull, if slightly formulaic (not uncommon with the Popeye cartoons). The humour and gags make it even more entertaining and there is a lot of good nature and charm here. A lot of the content is more creative than usual.

All three characters are great, though Olive Oyl's material is not quite as great as Popeye and Wimpy's. The three are spot on and their chemistry drives 'The House Builder-Upper' and has so much energy. Popeye is always amusing and likeable enough but for me Wimpy is here the funnier and more interesting character.

Furthermore, the animation is beautifully drawn and with enough visual detail to not make it cluttered or static and lively and smooth movement. The music is also outstanding, lots of merry energy and lush orchestration, adding a lot to the action and making the impact even better without being too cartoonish. Fleischer's direction is always accomplished and his style is all over it.

Voice acting is dynamic and of very good quality on the whole, Mae Questel is a good fit for Olive Oyl, the voice that most sticks in my mind for the character and who voiced her the best. Jack Mercer is the Popeye most familiar to me and he fits the character perfectly.

All in all, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Olive Oyl and her animals have no home after her house burns down. Sure, she was cleaning her dresser with gasoline. Volunteer firemen Popeye and Wimpy arrive too late. They volunteer to build her a new house. Wimpy is not a good builder. Popeye does try his best. The new house falls down and Popeye has to break out the spinach.

This is a good Popeye cartoon although I do miss Bluto. I don't know what he would do. Maybe he could take Wimpy's place. The boys could fight as always and bring down the house. I do really like Popeye's lyric at the end and it rhymes. It's very poignant. Popeye is no one-night stand.

Olive Oyl's house has burned down. The volunteer fire department -- that's Popeye and Wimpy -- show up too late to save the house, but promise to build Olive another. But can even spinach helpaccomplish this task?

Alas, the dirt and askew architecture that made Segar's strip such a delight are gone from the animated cartoon. But Dave Fleischer insisted on lots of gags in his cartoons. Without the standard Popeye-vs-Bluto fight to distract them, the animators had to oblige the boss with many comic bits that made me smile. I hope they will do as much for you.

That's all there is to this cartoon: funny stuff, and isn't that good enough for you?