classicsoncall Hey, even a child could do it, but Mickey, Goofy and Donald still have a hard time building the 'Queen Minnie' from a model kit. This shouldn't be surprising, or why would one even dream up the concept? Walt Disney himself provides the voice of the iconic Mickey Mouse in this 1938 cartoon, as Donald Duck plays paddle ball with the ship's rudder and Goofy attempts to romance a wooden figurehead of a woman. I wouldn't have any idea how much reproduction went into upgrading this flick for the current generation, but the clip shown on Turner Classics a few nights ago was exceptionally colorful and vibrant. Movie goers of the era must have been thrilled with the original presentation. Topping off the successful completion of the ship, Minnie Mouse herself christens her namesake, only to have the comic trio return to pandemonium once again. A lot of fun here, so check this one out when it comes your way.

Robert Reynolds This is a Mickey Mouse color short featuring Donald and Goofy. There will be spoilers ahead:As with virtually every Disney produced short, the animation here is generally excellent. The premise is basic and the results are predictable. What makes these cartoons work is the gags and the animation. You know at the outset that things won't end well for our heroes. It's just exactly what's going to go wrong that you wait for.The three decide to build a boat from a kit. All they need to do is assemble the parts. Much easier said than done. From the first step (unpacking the keel and ribs) the three are clearly in way over their heads.The chief problem is clearly a failure to communicate, as the three seem to be working in complete and blissful ignorance of what the other two are doing. This results in two of the funniest sequences, where Mickey plays havoc with Donald as he tests out the wheel while Donald is trying to paint the rudder and then later, when Goofy uncrates the mermaid which serves as decoration and Mickey carries her off and Goofy thinks the mermaid is flirtatiously playing a game with him. The results are less than pretty.The end is very funny even when you know what's going to happen. So don't book your space on their boat just yet, as they have a few kinks to work out at this point.This short is on the Disney Treasures Mickey Mouse In Living Color DVD release and is well worth seeking out. Recommended.

krorie Before VHS tape and DVD technology, many old movies and old cartoons were re-released every few years. I was a preteen in the early 1950's and vividly remember first seeing the 1938 "Boat Builders" just before a Roy Rogers Saturday matinée flick at the local theater. It was the funniest cartoon I had ever seen. I laughed aloud continually through the entire seven minutes as Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and their animated friends build a boat and launch it with outrageous slapstick humor aplenty. The whole audience joined me in the laughter. Several years later I watched "Boat Builders" again. It was still funny and enjoyable, the animation still amazing. I'm rating this cartoon from the standpoint of a preteen. For youngsters yesterday, today, and tomorrow, this one is a winner.

Shawn Watson If Mickey, Donald and Goofy build themselves a boat ('so easy even a child can do it') do you REALLY think that by the end of the cartoon it is still going to be standing? Obviously not.Their usual lack of skill and ignorance for each other's well-being cause enough problems during the actual building of said boat but it is when Minnie christens the boat 'Queen Minnie' that all their hard work slaps them in the face.And who would have known that Goofy was dumb enough to think a figurehead is a real lady and fall in love with her.Mildy amusing.