''Egyptian Melodies'' is a 1931

Silly Symphonies ''Silly Symphony'' is an American animation, animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Silly Symphonies'' were originally inte ...

animated short subject produced by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

and directed by

Wilfred Jackson Wilfred Jackson (January 24, 1906 – August 7, 1988) was an American animator, arranger, composer and director best known for his work on the ''Mickey Mouse'' and ''Silly Symphonies'' series of cartoons and the ''Night on Bald Mountain''/''Ave M ...

Summary

When a spider goes down into an Egyptian tomb, he instantly regrets going there when the mummies and hieroglyphs come to life.

Plot

The short film starts near the entrance of the

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

in Ancient Egypt, a

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

plays his web like a harp. He notices the door shaking and jumps off his web, the door slowly opens up revealing pitch blackness. He creeps up to the open door, and tells us quietly to follow him. Beyond the open door is a long, dark hallway with a few staircases leading downward. The spider gets scared by a falling piece of brick and flees, he then tumbles down a staircase. He hears a ticking sound and goes to see what the source of the sound is. Now in a large Egyptian tomb, he giggles at the camera and points at a sandtimer but gets scared when the bell atop it starts ringing. He flees and tries hiding in a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

but flees awway at the sight of a

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...

. Four other sarcophaguses open up, revealing four more mummies. The spider screams "Mummies!" and hides inside a

vase A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non-rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree species ...

, the mummies begin dancing around the tomb. After the mummies are back in their sarcophaguses, the spider looks around and then spots the hieroglyphics on the tomb's wall, these come to life and start dancing. The hieroglyphics begin hosting a

chariot race Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from ...

but then start a massive fight, the spider looks in horror at the crazed hieroglyphics and screams petrified. The poor insect cowers in fear and runs out of the tomb, up the staircases, down the stone halls and out of the door, running for his dear life over the desert dunes.

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' (February 23, 1932): "One of Walt Disney's ''Silly Symphonies'' and just fair filler matter. Nice penmanship, as usual in this series, is outstanding. Starts out as though it's going to be original, with an Egyptian background, and one of the sphinxes suddenly opens a door. Spider crawls in and down corridors, with then the usual ghost and mummy stuff."

Home media

The short was released on December 4, 2001, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics''.

References

External links

* American animated short films 1931 short films 1931 animated films 1931 films 1930s Disney animated short films Films directed by Wilfred Jackson Films produced by Walt Disney Films set in Egypt Silly Symphonies Mummy films Films scored by Frank Churchill American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures animated short films Columbia Pictures short films 1930s American films {{Disney-animation-film-stub