The House That Jack Built

A humorous animation film about a fellow who builds his house in the best suburb he can afford. He has a picture bride, a picture window and a garden as pretty as a picture, but he wanted something special and, like Jack and the Beanstalk, he finally got it! What he got is a moral for all.

This has a cumulative narration a little like the "12 Days of Christmas" as each sentence evolves then repeats the preceding one. That makes for quite an entertaining appraisal of the life of "Jack" as he lives in an house just like everyone else's and goes to work to pay the bills day in, day out. Then his car blows up and he trades in the wreck for some beans! His wife goes potty and he's relegated to the floor that night. In the morning, yep, there's a beanstalk that "Jack" climbs and his encounter with the "giant" sends him scurrying back down with a mirror that he's pinched. This gives him self confidence, a belief that he can achieve anything and next thing, well his house is a bit different from his neighbours - but is he fulfilled? The animation is a bit limited, I felt, but the pace of the thing; the fun narration and the underlying story of grass always being greener and the futile search for perfection is quite well delivered.