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. They also generally look a good deal better and don't look hindered by budget like the late Popeyes were.
'A Job for a Gob' is a relatively 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. All things considered, while there are infinitely better Popeye cartoons (especially during the Fleischer era) and there are signs of what made this period an inferior one for Famous Studios, 'A Job for a Gob' is not a bad late Popeye cartoon at all, a long way from it, and far from being one of the worst cartoons in Famous Studios' late output. Not great, but it definitely could have been worse.
As to be expected, the story is standard and formulaic and there could have a little more variety in the ways Popeye and Bluto fight against each other. Olive has very little to do, which was not unusual sadly for this stage of the series.
While much of the animation is fine, it does at times have some done in a rush-like drawing.
On the other, as said, much of it is very vibrantly colourful and the backgrounds are meticulously detailed and colourful. What is fantastic here is the music score, the consistent best thing of the mid-late-50s Popeye cartoons regardless of what the rest of the cartoons were like. 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. The gags are executed well, not much original here but they are amusing and well timed. The final quarter is wonderfully chaotic, even if the outcome isn't in doubt.
Popeye and Bluto carry 'A Job for a Gob' beautifully individually, especially Popeye here, and their chemistry and tension is a lot of fun. Jack Mercer, Mae Questel and Jackson Beck give great vocal characterisations, Beck in particular and Mercer and Questel are the voice actors that spring to mind generally for me for Popeye and Olive's voices.
In summary, worth a look if not exceptional. 6/10.
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