Egyptian Melodies

Just watched this Walt Disney Silly Symphony on YouTube. In this one, a spider goes inside the Spynx as the camera dollys with him through the corridors. Once at the heart of the place, the little arachnid sees mummys come out of their homes and start dancing. And then the hieroglyphics come to life and do the same...There's really nothing else that goes on there other then what I described though I don't want to reveal what happens to the end. You'll just have to see for yourself. It's certainly fascinating to see the early works of the Disney animators during the initial talking picture era before they would become even more accomplished when they would all do features several years later. So on that note, Egyptian Melodies comes highly recommended.

When you watch old cartoons, you need to understand the context of the times in order to appreciate them and make allowances for these films. For example, during most of the 1930s, cartoons were not nearly as enjoyable as they would be in the 1940s. Much of it is because many of the 30s cartoons were black & white but the differences are far greater than just color. The 30s had a ton of cartoons which were essentially sappy....filled with singing and dancing and cutesy characters. But they also rarely had a lot of humor or edginess to them. And, the artwork was often a bit suspect.

One company that bucked this cutesy and cheap trend was Disney. Their characters were often quite funny and have held up very well over the years...such as with Goofy and Donald Duck. Even with Disney's line of musical shorts, their 'Silly Symphonies', they generally had more to them than the competition...such as with "Egyptian Melodies". While it is a musical, the characters are not saccharinely sweet nor cute and their isn't any singing...just dancing. And, most importantly, the animation was tops for 1931.

The plot to "Egyptian Melodies" is scant. A spider-like creature climbs into a vault where there are dancing mummies and the like. There really is nothing more to the plot. But, as I mentioned above, the animation was lovely and you can't help but enjoy the film even if the plot is practically non-existent.

Some of the funniest "bits" are things I missed the first viewing: As the mummy cases open ominously, the spider strikes an Al Jolson pose, and cries "Mummy!" Also note that as the mummies turn around in their dance routine, they have button flaps on their wrappings, like old-fashioned long underwear. I wonder what else I may have missed? Maybe I should go run it again...

A spider enters the Sphinx. What "Egyptian" stuff does he see. Let's think a moment. There are mummies. Of course, sarcophagi. He has already seen pyramids and the aforementioned sphinx. Mostly, we have perpetual motion hieroglyphics. Why the spider is in there--who knows. It's a bit of a lark and that's about it.

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.