User Reviews

Olive is seen packing a picnic basket. Suddenly, Popeye and Bluto are at the front door. Each is expecting to go on the picnic. Popeye brings candy; Bluto brings cigars which quickly turn into a punching bag-gag once Popeye opens the box. "Ha, ha, ha," yells Bluto, "April Fool!" When Popeye sees what day it is, April 1, he laughs because he's a good-natured guy.

They drive off to the picnic and Bluto, sitting in the back seat, torments Popeye. Olive just says, "Can't ya take a joke?" This goes on and on as Bluto keeps playing April Fool's gags on Popeye and Olive keeps sadistically laughing as our guy takes physical abuse.

I agree with the other reviewers: why Popeye was in love with the fickle and unworthy Olive Oyl is beyond me. No man would put up with this dame! What an annoying woman! She certainly doesn't deserve Popeye.

Really like to love a good deal of Popeye cartoons and like the character of Popeye. Love Bluto more and his chemistry with Popeye has always driven their cartoons. Will admit though to preferring the Popeye cartoons from the Dave Fleischer era, the cartoons tend to be funnier and there is more originality and more risk taking in some of them.

1955's 'Cookin with Gags' is a late Popeye cartoon and made in Famous Studios' roughest and most variable period where budgets were much smaller in particularly the animation and deadlines and time constraints were shorter and tighter. There are infinitely better Popeye cartoons (especially during the Fleischer era) and there are signs of what made this period. Not terrible but definitely one of the lesser later Popeye cartoons from personal opinion.

As to be expected, the story is standard and formulaic when there is signs of one (not a lot), with not as much variety as many other Popeye cartoons and it also feels much too cluttered. Complete with an easy foreseeable ending. There are lots of gags and the action never lets up, though a few don't feel cooked all the way through and some of Bluto's behaviour is at times rather cruel.

'Cookin with Gags' worst asset is Olive, one of those infrequent occurrences where she is so unbearably obnoxious that you are at a loss as to what Popeye sees in her. Their chemistry doesn't sparkle that much here either, and the little material Olive has is not funny at all (grating actually) and is very repetitive. Mae Questel is also too shrill.

However, the animation quality is not too bad for this period. The colours are fine and there is smoothness and nice detail, and there isn't much that's sparse, static or rough

What is especially fantastic about 'Cookin with Gags' is the music score, the best thing for me. It's beautifully orchestrated, rhythmically it's full of energy and there is so much character and atmosphere, it's also brilliant at adding to the action and enhancing it. There are some amusing and well engineered gags, the interplay between the characters is lively and witty if in need of more variety and the pace is never dull.

Of the three characters, Popeye is the most likeable and most rootable, but Bluto is the funniest and most interesting. Jack Mercer and Jackson Beck give great vocal characterisations, Beck in particular and Mercer is the voice actor that spring to mind generally for me for Popeye's voice.

In summary, didn't really work for me. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Bluto expresses his perpetual cruelty as the threesome goes on a picnic on April Fool's Day. There are some bits that have been done before as Popeye is expected to be a good sport as Bluto torments him. He even sabotages Popeye's spinach. Not one of the finer cartoons but OK for the few bits it has.

Cookin' With Gags (1955)

*** (out of 4)

Action packed short has Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto going on an April Fools picnic where Bluto plays one bad trick after another.

This is certainly one of the more entertaining Popeye shorts from the 1950s thanks in large part to Bluto being such a jerk and poor Popeye having to take a beating until he finally has had enough and gets some revenge. There's plenty of violence and action throughout the short running time, which helps keep everything moving at a very good pace. The highlight is a scene where Popeye is trying to start a fire and Bluto uses some gas for a little extra boom.

Popeye and Bluto take Olive Oyl on a picnic. Bluto keeps playing pranks on Popeye and yelling April's Fool to Olive's delight. When a prank accidentally happens to Olive, she gets angry at Popeye. Eventually, Popeye is able to play a prank on Bluto.

This is colored Popeye short. Olive is the worst. She may be worst than Bluto. They would actually make a fitting couple. This is the classic conundrum with the Popeye love triangle. Olive is high maintenance and often very annoying.

Although the 50s Popeye cartoons were variable in animation quality.

This one was better but with one issue. Olive Oyl was obnoxious.

Olive is taken to a picnic accompanied by Popeye and Bluto.

Throughout it all Popeye is the butt of Bluto's April Fools jokes with Olive Oyl laughing heartily at Popeye's misfortunes.

Even a can of spinach cannot help Popeye. Bluto switched it.

Still Popeye has the last laugh but Olive Oyl should had been dumped.

This is not among the greatest moments in animation, mostly due to the poor script and lack of any real plot. If one was to begin the POPEYE series by starting with this one, their interest would be severely drained. This one is best to avoid, unless you are a die-hard fan of the Spinached One.

Bluto has many cruel April Fools' Day pranks in store for Popeye in this cartoon. I can't bring myself to spoil any of them for you, but they are hilariously malicious. While Bluto gets what's coming to him in the end, he certainly shines in this cartoon.

Bluto is having the time of his life as he pulls trick after trick on his rival. His leering laughter and taunting 'APRIL FOOLS' shouts add to the mayhem.

Watching Popeye cartoons in adulthood can be a hit or miss affair, but this writer imagines that almost anyone with a dark sense of humor will enjoy Cooking With Gags. You can watch this cartoon on the internet for free, so please check it out.

I watch this every April fool's day. I love it so much i think i still have the VHS. Popeye keeps getting april fooled, and Oyl as always is annoying but its funny. There's even a snake in poor Popeye's spinach can. He rues the day though.

The only good thing - the huge cynism of Olive Oy. In rest, jokes , revenge and all the so familiar ingredients defining the Popeye/ Olive/ Bluto adventures.