Robert Reynolds
This short is one of the Silly Symphonies series which Disney produced. There will be spoilers ahead:There's no real plot here, but one isn't really necessary. A spider is tugging on a web attached to a sphinx when a secret door in the front opens. The spider, curious, goes inside, negotiating an intricate series of halls and corridors (a magnificent section of wonderful animation) until it reaches a chamber where it eventually enters a sarcophagus and is frightened by a mummy.It runs away only to find four other sarcophagi and four other mummies. The mummies come out to do a dance as the spider hides from them. The dance sequence is also well executed.The best is yet to come, as hieroglyphics come to live and begin a conflict. The visuals here are fascinating, moving faster and faster, until the spider panics, runs back out the way it came and then runs off into the desert.This short is available on the Disney Treasures Silly Symphonies DVD set and it and the set are well worth finding. Recommended.
Shawn Watson
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.
tavm
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.
sophiehatcher
The only quote in this film is 'Mummy!' by the little spider. Other than that, the music is brilliantly done. The mummies are great, The palm trees are great, The spider was great, The Sphinx was great, The long johns were great (!), The sound effects were great, Even the creeping pyramid was great!, My compliments to Walt Disney! The colour usage works just fine. It's just wonderful how Disney films are non-violent and without bloodshed (most of the time). Silly Symphonies are brilliant (and musical, like they're supposed to be!) If you like 'Egyptian Melodies', then try 'China Plate', a Chinese/Japanese short film with the same black and white colouring and cute music. Available on DVD, thank goodness.
