seems like a lot of oil...?

sorry, i miss read the recipe, but 1/4c oil still isn't a lot of oil because you're going to get about 16 cups of popcorn for 1/2c kernels. That's a lot of surface area to coat.

1/4 c oil for 1/2 c unpopped corn kernels is not a lot. You need the oil to get the kernels to pop. Otherwise, they just burn and may not even pop.