The House Builder-Upper (1938)

Aug 24, 2026

by Linda Kay

Directed by: Dave Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel

Synopsis: When Olive Oyl’s house burns down, firemen Popeye and Wimpy offer to build a new one for her.

Cartoon Cat: At the start of the short, Olive Oyl is sitting on the front stoop in front of her burnt house with a black cat, a parrot in a cage and a mouse in what appears to be a trap. All of them are crying.

The House Builder-Uppers - Olive Oyl with black cat, parrot and mouse crying outside house
The House Builder-Uppers - Olive Oyl with black cat, parrot and mouse crying outside house
The House Builder-Uppers - Olive Oyl with black cat, parrot and mouse crying outside burnt house
The House Builder-Uppers - Olive Oyl with black cat, parrot and mouse crying outside burnt house animated gif

Popeye arrives to put out the fire too late and apologizes, causing them all to burst into tears again.

The House Builder-Uppers - Olive Oyl with black cat, parrot and mouse crying outside house with Popeye holding hose
The House Builder-Uppers - Olive Oyl with black cat, parrot and mouse crying outside house with Popeye holding hose

It’s then that Popeye and Wimpy volunteer to rebuild the house. The cat is not seen again.

The House Builder-Uppers - Olive Oyl with black cat, parrot and mouse crying outside house with Popeye and Wimpy

Final Mewsings: The cat and other animals are the most important things to save from a fire.

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