Egyptian Melodies (1931)

That was an excellent one.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

This early black-and-white cartoon features a little spider sneak his way into the catacombs beneath the Sphinx and wander around. The scaling effects as he does so are quite good, especially for 1931. A bunch of mummies comb out of their sarcophagi and dance around. From here on it's the usual movement timed to music animation showcase that many early Silly Symphonies were known for. The monochrome does add a nice atmosphere though, I just wish that they did more with it.Eventually the little spider freaks out at the madness on show and high-tails it out of there. That's your lot for this plot less cartoon, but it's not a complete obscurity and worth watching once.

The best thing to do when watching Egyptian Melodies is to forget looking for a plot, as there isn't one. Other than that, this Disney Silly Symphony is very entertaining. The black and white animation looks very clear and smooth with good character designs, but visually I found the camera work to be the most striking asset of Egyptian Melodies. The two standouts for me in that regard were the slow motion movement of the hallways of the Sphinx, almost from the eyes of somebody following the Spider, and the final dizzying shots of the Spider reacting in horror to the motions of the wall figures. The music has energy and some authentic flavour, while the dance routine, while the least compelling scene of the cartoon, is nicely choreographed. There are also some great gags, the best ones being the chariot race and when the soldier marches off and corrects himself. What takes up most of Egyptian Melodies is where the figures on the wall come to life, to great effect, and there is a wonderfully nightmarish finale. The characters are memorable too, the Spider being the most memorable, but the mummies and hieroglyphics also make an impression. Overall, very entertaining. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Like a lot of the early Silly Symphonies made at the Disney Studio, "Egyptian Melodies" is an essentially plot-free mini-musical that takes place in an atmospheric locale where everyone and everything bobs to the rhythm. This one follows the pattern set by the very first Symphony, "The Skeleton Dance," in its focus on an eerie setting where even the dead can join the party; but instead of skeletons, this time we're presented with mummies eager to jump out of their cases and boogie.The opening shot is a striking one that sets the tone for what follows: while exotic, pseudo-Middle Eastern music plays and palm trees sway in the foreground, the camera tracks in on the Sphinx . . . a Sphinx that features what appears to be a large wooden door just under its face. On one side of this door is a spider in his web, playing it like a harp. When he hears a commotion inside the Sphinx the spider decides to investigate, first turning to the camera to "shush" us, then beckoning us to follow. (This spider, who is our guide and central character, has been granted the Oliver Hardy-like power to communicate with the viewer.) Our entry into the Sphinx is a fascinating, scary passage through winding corridors in sharp perspective: impressive animation for its time. Once we're fully inside, the spider loses his self-confidence and seems at a loss, frightened by those dancing mummies and other unpleasant surprises. Meanwhile, our attention shifts to the hieroglyph figures on the wall, which come to life. Egyptian soldiers march, and slaves perform a cymbal dance for the pleasure of the Pharaoh. Then there's a chariot race, and the factions following each competitor get increasingly frenzied as the race progresses. When the situation reaches a crescendo the spider flees in terror.This is a fun cartoon for animation buffs. When I was a kid I tended to get impatient with these little musicals, as I preferred a strong central character like a Donald Duck or a Bugs Bunny. Now, however, I can appreciate the sheer off-the-wall creativity that went into these things. The Silly Symphonies series served as a training ground for the Disney animators, and when you watch a cartoon like this one you can see where the innovations that led to such classics as "Fantasia" and "Pinocchio" were initially honed and perfected.

A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.A large spider enters the Sphinx at Giza and makes its way to the burial chamber. Once there, the adventurous arachnid gets the scare of its life when the mummies & wall paintings come to life to the strains of EGYPTIAN MELODIES...This is a wacky, wonderful black & white cartoon. Forget the plot - there almost isn't any. When the stylized wall paintings awake, the animators indulge themselves in a perfect riot of humorous movement which delights the eye. These few moments are one of the great unheralded gems of early Disney animation. Also noteworthy is the sinuous ease with which the `camera' flows along the corridors & down the staircases inside the Sphinx.The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most fascinating of all animated series. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.