Phineas Moody, the head of Moody Comics is in terrible health. His worried daughter Betty calls in two doctors who discover that Phineas hasn't laughed in decades. Betty and her future husband Tim Jones fill the Moody mansion full of a variety of vaudeville acts to make Phineas laugh again. When that fails, the pair track down Phineas's estranged wife Hettie, who Betty hasn't seen since childhood. The film concludes with the making of an animated cartoon that is shown to Phineas and Hettie.