Egyptian Melodies: A Delightfully Weird Old Cartoon You Should See

So, you’re scrolling through old cartoons and thinking, "What even is an 'Egyptian Melodies'?" Good question. If you’ve got a soft spot for early animation, particularly the kind that leans into the wonderfully bizarre, then yes, this little short is absolutely worth a few minutes of your time today. It’s perfect for folks who enjoy seeing animation before it got all polished and predictable. But if you’re looking for a deep plot or even coherent storytelling in the modern sense, you’ll probably find yourself a bit confused, maybe even bored. This one’s for the niche crowd, no doubt. 🕷️

The premise is simple enough: a spider, kinda cute in a creepy crawly way, decides to explore the Sphinx. What unfolds is less a story and more a series of *events*. The spider itself has these amazing, exaggerated expressions. Like, one minute it’s just chilling, the next its eyes are popping out its head. It’s a great example of how animators back then used pure visual flair to convey everything.

The whole thing feels like a fever dream set to some really catchy, slightly eerie music. The Sphinx itself isn’t just a backdrop; it’s practically a character. Its face shifts, its eyes glow. There’s a scene where the Sphinx actually yawns, and you just gotta smile at that. It’s so unexpected, so playful. You can almost feel the animators just having fun with the possibilities of what they could make move.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Egyptian Melodies (1931) through its definitive frames.

And those "spooky encounters"? Oh, they're a trip. We’re talking mummies that unravel themselves, bats that look more like mischievous shadows, and hieroglyphs that dance right off the walls. One moment, the spider is just minding its own business, and then *bam*, a ghostly hand reaches out from nowhere. It's not scary, not really, but it keeps you on your toes in a delightful way. The pacing is relentless, almost too fast sometimes, like they packed as many gags as possible into a few short minutes. It's a quick blast of surreal energy.

What really sticks with you is the sheer imagination on display. There’s a moment where a sarcophagus lid *flips open* like a trapdoor, and another where the spider gets stuck in some kind of musical instrument inside the tomb. The way the animators used simple lines and shapes to create such dynamic movement is pretty wild. It's easy to see why these early cartoons were so popular; they just had this raw, unbridled energy. The little spider, our main guy, never really speaks, but you understand everything from its frantic scurrying and those big, expressive eyes.

It’s not perfect, of course. Some bits feel a bit repetitive, and if you're not into the whole "old-timey" animation style, you might find it a bit jarring. But for what it is, a snapshot of early animated creativity, it’s a charming, quirky watch. You won't remember the plot, because there isn't much of one, but you'll remember the spider's wide-eyed terror and the playful spookiness of the ancient tomb. A neat little historical curio.