Halloween Warm-up: Magic Mummy

Magic Mummy (1933)
Starring: Margie Hines (as the voice of the Mummy)
Directors: John Foster and George Stallings
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Tom and Jerry are police officers working the graveyard shift when they get a call about a stolen mummy. While working the case, they find their way to an underground theatre where a lich puts on performances for the undead.

"The Magic Mummy" is one of those 1930s animated romps that's a wild mix of visual puns, crazy humor, and horror that add up to a dreamlike, borderline nightmarish flight of fancy. From a playful opening scene with the heroes of our story patrolling the city streets in a literal radio car; to the portrayal of the jazziest, most laid-back jail in all of cartoon land; through the heroes invading the villains lair and discovering his plans for the mummy and ultimately disrupting them, this is a bit of animation that needs to be seen to be experienced. Any details I could describe here will ruin the surprising visuals and quirky little twists that will unfold before your eyes as you watch. I feel the ending could have been stronger, but getting to it was such a trip that I am mostly able to forgive the stumble at the finish.

I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch this great little cartoon right now. It's a perfect warm-up for Halloween, and it may also be the most fun you'll have today!

Trivia: Margie Hines also did the voices of Betty Boop and Olive Oyle during the late 1930s and early 1940s in some 50 cartoons.. She was, in fact, also the very first voice of Betty Boop in 1930, but was replaced for a number of years by Mae Questel.