Gypped in Egypt (1930) User Reviews

Gypped in Egypt is an entertaining early Van Beuren Aesop Fables entry

[tavm · 7/10 · 2 June 2007]

Gypped in Egypt is a Van Beuren Aesop Fables entry that features a cat duo-one tall, one short-who seem to be the precursor of the humans, Tom and Jerry, Van Beuren introduced a year or so later. They somehow get stuck in Egypt where they encounter various skeletons-one of whom plays a mean swinging "Chopsticks" on a piano with the short one playing along. There's also some dancing with some hieroglyphics joining in. The cat duo later encounter another skeleton who takes them up on an elevator up a monument only to leave them outside at the top. I'm sure you can guess what happens after that. No real plot to speak of but entertaining enough on merits of movements that dominated many of these cartoons of the '30s. Worth seeing for any animation buffs of Van Beuren.

A Wild-And-Crazy Ride In Egypt

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 21 August 2007]

For entertainment value alone, I rate this cartoon highly. It was a wild ride and simply a series of crazy sight gags.

The first scene shows a unique camel. I've never seen one that looks like this: so thin that two guys hang a hammock from it and sleep down below its belly! The camel then boots the two guys off the hammock and the three of them, obviously thirsty, yell out "water!" The camel's voice is funny. The three of them do this condo-like Steve Martin dance (it's good) to the small oasis nearby. The two guys then punch the camel out, killing him - violence against animals was sometimes brutal in these very old cartoons - because they want the water. A bird comes by and sucks all the water up, anyway.

These guys pay for their sins against the camel, however, and we see some wild, dream-like things occurring. The two buys wind up buried in some mummy's tomb

The little one of the two guys has a ball but the tall guy is shaking all over in fear. The little guy puts a coin in the slot of a tomb and a skeleton comes out and dances for him! It's primitive but not bad. Even the figures in the hieroglyphics on wall dance and give each other "high fives." Yeah, apparently they were way ahead of their time!

This whole cartoon is pretty insane, almost a Dali-esquire nightmare of bizarre sights and happenings. It certainly makes it interesting because you don't know what crazy thing you'll next over the eight-and-one-half minutes.

Egyptian insanity

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 12 January 2018]

Van Beuren cartoons are extremely variable, especially in the number of gags and whether the absurdist humour shines through enough (sometimes it does, other times it doesn't), but are strangely interesting. Although they are often poorly animated with barely existent stories and less than compelling lead characters, they are also often outstandingly scored, there can be some fun support characters and some are well-timed and amusing.

'Gypped in Egypt' is one of the best Aesop's Fables cartoons, of 1930 and overall, and also to me one of Van Beuren's best overall. It may not be a masterpiece or a cartoon classic, but it is so much more entertaining than most Aesop's Fables/Van Beuren cartoons and it is one of the few in the series to do almost everything right and not suffer from all, or most of, the usual flaws.

As what tends to be the case with Van Beuren, while it is actually one of the better looking cartoons in the series, the animation is less than brilliant. It is more detailed and more imaginative than most Aesop's Fables cartoons, but there is a lack of finesse in the drawing, an erratic sloppiness in movement and overdose of over-simplicity.

While still fun, the last third of 'Gypped in Egypt' doesn't quite have the energy of the other two thirds, it's there just not as much.

However, 'Gypped in Egypt' goes at a snappy pace and not only manages to be one of Van Beuren's strangest and absurdist, a good thing as that's their style of humour when they do it right, but also one of their overall funniest. There are a lot of gags, all of them well timed and funny, as well as wonderfully insane and almost nightmarish.

Don't expect it to make sense, it doesn't. The difference is that so much is executed so well it is much easier to forgive than with most of their efforts that don't excel anywhere near as much. Likewise with minding as to whether the story is flimsy (and it is as flimsy as one can get), you're just having too much fun to care. It is also one of their most nightmarish, there is a real creepiness, almost surrealistically so, to the atmosphere and some deliciously kooky characters.

Best of all is the music score, it is typically peppy and great fun to listen to. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and full of lively energy, doing so well with enhancing the action. Synchronisation is nicely done on the whole.

All in all, surprisingly well done and one of the better Aesop's Fables/Van Beuren cartoons. 8/10 Bethany Cox