The Failure of Mummies Alive!: A Largely Forgotten Series
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Mummies Alive! was a beloved animated series produced by DIC Entertainment that premiered in the late 90s, captivating audiences with its unique blend of action, adventure, and Egyptian mythology.
The show followed the adventures of four ancient Egyptian guardians - Ja-Kal, Rath, Armon, and Nefer-Tina - who were brought back to life in modern times to protect the reincarnation of their former pharaoh from the evil sorcerer Scarab.
However, despite its initial popularity, the series was abruptly cancelled after only one season, leaving fans to wonder what could have been.
In this video, we'll explore the fascinating history of Mummies Alive!, from its conception to its cancellation, and delve into the factors that ultimately led to its demise. Whether you're a die-hard fan of Ja-Kal, Rath, Armon, and Nefer-Tina, or simply curious about this short-lived classic, join us on a journey to uncover the story of Mummies Alive!.
Seth Kearsley's Mummies Alive! video: • Mummies Alive is now 25
SOURCES:
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www.awn.com/ma...
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anatomypubs.on...
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Thank you reaching into the dustbin of cartoon history, wiping off the dirt and dust, and saying, “oh yeah I remember this one. Let’s do a show on it.” Always appreciate you Dan.
My thoughts exactly and I couldn’t have said it better!👍🏻😎
Yall remember Spider riders on 4kids tv? 😂
This show definitely needs a reboot. The intro alone was enough to get you hooked. I remember having a toy of Armon as a kid, and my cousin had Ja-Kal.
OMG his name was Armon with one arm 🤯
Dood, mummies alive was so badass. The fact it's not a huge franchise in 2023 proves to me we live in the wrong timeline.
facts
This and Skeleton Warriors
Mummies Alive was my shit during my Power Rangers phase; before DBZ came around and eclipsed everything else. Never would pass up Mummies Alive if I saw it while channel surfing though. Super fun.
i belive you are the only one living in a wrong timeline
@@johnnyhasselburg6918Also Gargoyles
Loved this show back when it was on. The Gargoyles connection makes a lot of sense with how they handled the mythology. Would be cool to see what someone could do with it today.
Today? Nah would be terrible
@@lordcorporal4247everything new is terrible! Get off my lawn!
Please leave it in the past where it belongs, it's a Classic.
Naw let it live in our memories 😂😂,where is awesome n still good
Things seemed better when we were kids because our minds hadn't matured yet. That's why we think new stuff sucks. This phenomenon can be observed in every generation of humanity. "Today's new music sucks."
Honestly given the insane schedule and the amount of episodes I'm really impressed with the quality of the animation and the quality in general of this show. Truly 97 was still a year when we were putting out bangers it's a shame and never got a second season but at least we got one hell of a decent 42 episode series.
On God man
Mummies Alive was one of my favourite shows as a kid, well, extremely geeky teenager. I was a huge ancient Egypt nerd so this was gold. Seriously bummed when they cancelled it.
It deserved better than it got!
The art style looks cool and some of the action seems pretty dynamic.
@@warface4881 Honestly, I can't help but feel the speed lines during the transformation sequence, were anime inspired?
Ghosts. Gargoyles. Mummies.
Nineties kids had it so good!
I loved the show. Armored warriors was an easy sell. And that opening is just too catchy. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I think everyone went through an ancient Egypt phase and mine was almost perfectly timed with mummies Alive.
Mine too!
Same haha. also toys with removeable armor was how you got me as a kid!
“Armored warriors with catchy opening”
So…ever heard of Saint Seiya? 🤣
Dude, everyone goes through an Egyptian phase, those shiny gold sarcophagi are way to marketable. Instantly armor able warriors are also an easy sell, since reusable transformation sequences are cheap.
This was such a great series. I was so disappointed when the show just suddenly disappeared. The animation at that time was unique and top notch
This show gave me one of my favorite quotes about Immortality as Scarab was being sealed up.
"I will still be young when you've been in your tomb 1,000 years."
"At least I will be in my tomb."
"At least when I'm in my tomb, I'll be dead. Seal the jackel in his den!"
Honestly Scarab's PTSD is JUSTIFIED
Finally, UPN was acknowledged! In CA they played Ronin Warriors and Mummies alive and Digimon Frontier and it was epic!
I used to watch this in the morning before I went to school. It holds a special place in my heart with Beast Wars, Dinosaucers, and that terrible Darkstalkers cartoon.
That opening song is fire!
Thanks for bringing back a great memory of a show 😊
"What if Yu-Gi-Oh was a super sentai" This, Swat Kats and Mighty Max were my jam growing up.
not forgotten in my heart. I loved this show. Had the first episodes on VHS
Imagine how crazy this could've become if this released at the same time as the 1998 Mummy films.
iirc there was a series based on the Mummy movies called Secrets of the Medjai
@@finnmchugh99 There indeed was.
I remember my father Michael Edens and uncle Mark working on this series. Dad was absolutely furious that the studio meddling limited their ability to make references to actual Egyptian culture. They weren't allowed to use actual people from history, they had an allotment of 3 actual egyptian-related words (Scarab, Shabti, Sarcophagus) to use. Everything else had to be made up, "kid friendly" names like the "Skycophagus".
Thanks for covering this show! I know it would have made him happy to watch.
Yeah, that tracks. I'm not entirely sure what their goal was with that, it's like having Stargate SG-1 without being able to reference actual Egyptian culture or any culture for that matter. Kind of undermines the plot of your entire show.
Mummies Alive was the show on UPN that was on late enough on weekdays to where, if I was watching TV before school and I made it there, I knew my mom wasn't going to make me go.
So thanks, Mummies, for ensuring that I had no chance at perfect attendance!
I loved Mummies Alive. Wish it went longer
Yeah, I fondly remember watching reruns of this on the Sci Fi channel when I was finishing my sophomore year of high school. The Sci Fi channel aired the Bobot Kids programming block on weekday mornings so I got see this, Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) and Roughneck: The Starship Troopers Chronicles (1999-2000) during the summer of 1999. Really enjoyed this show, since I am huge history buff and the animation was really good as well.
@JB0071051982 nice. I stumbled across the show looking for reruns of MASK. I don't remember the channel, but, it blew me away
@@user-si9fx4xb6v I watched Mummies Alive religiously on YTV. Although I can't remember if I watched it after school, on weekends, or weekdays during my days off from school? Since I don't remember what time it aired on YTV?
I'm gonna be 38 in August and I remember watching this cartoon. I for one liked the idea of this series along with the amazing character designs, intro seq., and song. The Egyptian lore put into the show was a nice touch that played on my love for Raiders of the Lost Ark and memories of other hit animated teams like SilverHawks, Defenders of the Earth, Thundercats and even Power Rangers.
It hit every just right.
I certainly haven’t forgotten it. I think it’s highly underrated and deserves another shot
I agree!! It deserves a reboot.
Me feeling snobby because I remember this, had the figures and...had the hots for an ancient mummy woman?...wow, yeahhhh that last one was something...
Loved the trip down memory lane, thank you!
Your commitment to the Boba Fett and Jonathan Frakes bit is commendable.
Loved this show, some of the names were awesome. Ja-Kal being Jackal, Ar-Mon with his power of getting his missing ARM ON! And of course Nefertina being aligned with Bast! I was so disappointed there was no Nefertina in the action figures. It had a good catchy theme song, really nice animation quality.
For some reason I kind of hate that name, Nefertina. ANF yeah I find it funny how only the UK got the Nefertina action figure.
I was starting to grow out of animated cartoons, but I watched Mummies Alive for its unique premise. The episodes were good. Plus, Nefer Tina looks pretty hot.
same i was born in 79 also and yea milf =mummy etc
Gadget made a generation of furries, Nefertina made some necrophiliacs.
@@raffaeleparisi Geez. wtf😂
@@raffaeleparisi Is it necrophilia if they're UNdead? I see a lot of people getting hot for vampires. 🧛♂️ 🧛♀️
Bureaucrat@@autobotstarscream765 , you are technically correct - the best kind of correct.
Mummies Alive used to be one of my favorite parts about waking up. Such an underrated show
maybe it's because I didn't have cable around the time it was on the air, or maybe it's because it's got a lot of tokusatsu-esque stuff going on, but I definitely remember enjoying the hell out of this show for the brief time it existed in the pre-youtube days.
the transformation sequences, the style, even the vehicles, it all gives me a lot of old-school Sentai vibes
I have a few 5" mummy figures: one from this, a Dr. Who monster, the Big Bad Beetle Borgs character, and a wooden figurine of Tutankhamen with his casket. And together they are... The Sarcophoguys. 😂 I guess I commited to the bit before I knew there was a bit. Thank you, Dan!
I loved this show and I've never realised Ron Wasserman did the theme. No wonder it stuck in my head so long
when I saw this on the recommended list, My jaw dropped. I remember being heavily into this show, but also being a fan of The Mummy, and Also being a Fan Of Yu-Gi-Oh. Now I'm old now, but I think all three of these things really cemented my love for Egyptian themes in tv / movies. I may just have to share Mummies with someone who watches old tv shows with me every Tuesday cause I am pretty sure they haven't seen this. Thanks for reminding me of this show. :)
Dan Larson's banter with his producers is always a treat like Magic Spoon.
The retort/smart ass response text by the editor is also hilarious. 10:13 “Just like Dan”
Use code "screen crush" to make Dan cry
His "dedication to the bit" is admirable!
Such an under appreciated series. I wouldn’t mind seeing it come back.
I first heard about this the worst way any preteen could have: I stumbled onto it when I woke up early with a stomach bug and stayed home from school. That said, it always seemed awesome.
Loved this show during DJ Katt. It was beautiful fight animation and unique characters.
I really enjoyed this show a lot when it was on. I think what drew me in, besides the great animation, was the idea that mummies could be heroic “good guys”, and didn’t automatically have to be undead villains. I’ve always thought that aspect was really awesome.
Those transformation sequences are so damn crisp.
I remember watching this every morning before school! That theme song is still awesome. Lol
10:56 The person that took that picture didn’t even bother to rewind the cassette. Philistine!
I'm so glad someone remembered Mummies Alive! Trying to describe it to someone they seem to think I'm making it up!
I loved this show as a 12 year old. Came on right before I had to catch the bus for school. Also I really dig the Xanatos "no way" supercut😂
This is one of the animations that has one Kick Ass Music
Also the one that sold me was their transformation to their armored form
So happy to see you guys cover Mummies Alive! I was obsessed with this series as a kid and had no idea about the Ghostbusters connection. Like Ducktales, the theme song always pops up in my mind when I'm working and doing chores lol.
I was about 13 when I saw this on tv and loved it, especially since they gave interesting dynamics to the characters. It was also interesting in that, at the time, they discussed death or at least the fact that the mummies had died and left full lives and loved ones behind. More common now, but wasn't that common during the 90s show I saw growing up.
That sounds like the writers had a clue and respected their audience's intelligence. Really cool that you got that experience because that's a big concept to face as kid.
I LOVE this show. To me, this was the last of the great Saturday Morning cartoons - written and produced in the USA, animated in Japan and South Korea, promoted by toys and merchandise. I could never get tired of the stock footage animation when they transform, so visually amazing and colorful. If this was produced during the 80s it would've probably made a bigger impact on TV and toy aisles.
"The power of Ra has fled to the night!"
"You mean the solar batteries are flat?"
Lol, loved that show as a kid👍
So many great scenes and dialogue moments like that. 🤣
"Great is the power of George Washington!"
I remember this show. I use to work with a guy who liked it because he thought the concept of mummies was cool. We both got off work in the morning and would get home to catch the show on TV along with Sonic Underground, which my coworker would crack jokes about the theme song.
Used to watch this on YTV in 90s canada and loved it. Used to pretend to have those powers as a kid like JaKal's wing flight and found it weird to hear Dale Wilson playing bad guys like Cell in the Ocean Dub of DBZ or the Principal in X Men Evolution after his kind and fatherly role in this. Looking back it had some impressive animation that makes modern things look like used human waste when compared to it. The colors, movement and design all held up really well. Also a lot of the enemies summoned by Scarab were actually high rank gods who probably would not be so easy to beat nor eager to help him in real life.
Everybody gangsta until Scarab summons Slifer the Executive Producer to attack the reincarnated Pharaoh.
As soon as you brought up DBZ the first thing that comes to mind is how many episodes and the commercials we had to sit through to finally see Kakarot transform into a SSJ. It was so epic when it finally happened. A lot of cartoons back in the 90s had a similar feel great storylines awesome character development it was worth watching the commercials just to not miss anything. Shortcuts nowadays ruin everything like doing a 1 button fatality when playing Mortal Kombat the satisfaction isn't the same.
I also find it so odd to hear Dale Wilson's voice with villains! 🤣 I heard Cell and immediately thought, "Ja-Kal! Why are you being so mean?!" 😭
I have fond memories of this show. The animation was tight the opening theme was catchy, and the story was interesting when they fleshed out the back stories of the mummies.
When a we getting a second channel with just Dan doing covers of theme songs?? Its truly is one of the highlights of every video for me
Brought back a big part of my childhood I missed this show gonna rewatch
When I went to high school in the UK I remember this being on tv in the afternoons. I really enjoyed it! One of the few cartoons I tried to catch regularly. I'm surprised it wasn't more popular.
Forgotten? I remember this series just like it was yesterday when it was I think shown when I was a child in the late 90s. I swear whenever someone highlights some media as "forgotten", chances are I've already seen and know about at some level. Shows how deep my tastes are even as a kid...
Man, I loved Mummies Alive! back in the day. If my memory serves me right, the cartoon was well received here in Brazil.
I love how every time Andy Heyward comes up, Dan can refer to him as a 'DIC head'.
He's the best DIC head that ever lived lol. He's responsible for so many amazing cartoons
Heck of a theme song, heck of a show. Part of me always wanted a Yugioh crossover.
A little boy named Yugi found a secret out this year, that he was once a pharaoh when Egyptians ruled the world. And now a sorcerer named Pegasus/Marik/Dartz/Bakura tries to get him day and night, but Yugi has four guardians to protect his very life.
That really is just Yami Bakura, and Yugi's four guardians are either Joey/Tea/Tristan/Kaiba or Dark Magician/Dark Magician Girl/Kuriboh/Valkyrion the Magna Warrior.
I loved this show. My older cousins kept telling me this show would rot my brain
I would love to see an episode about The Mighty Ducks cartoon! Was the coolest thing I ever saw.
I absolutely loved this show! I've always loved power-up armor shows and ancient Egypt so this was perfect for me! I would welcome a reboot.
Between Bots Master, Arthur and the Knights of Justice, James Bond Jr., this show and countless other properties you've covered; thank you for affirming that my childhood wasn't a fever dream I concocted.
Also, peak usage of The Frakes
Oh yeah, The Frakes! Sixteen-piece trombone ensemble of identical guys!
@@TitularHeroine that’s a lot of transporter accidents
I actually loved this show as a kid. I even had some of the toys. I wished I held onto them.
This was my favorite cartoon as a kid. One of my earliest Christmas memories was my babysitter giving my siblings and I the toys because we always watched it at her house.
I loved this growing up. Had all the toys. This street sharks and the dino one lol
Extreme Dinosaurs. Loved that show as a kid (I found the VHS tapes at Blockbuster, and that alone brings back so much nostalgia), and I found a way to get its theme song on my computer and phone.
@@cookscreativecorner ah that's the one. I still got a toy of the bad black raptor with the blades
I use to watch that cartoon as a kid so cartoons many good we had in lates 80s .90s and early 2000s. It's just sad cartoons of today are not good . Like 80s 90s and early 2000s.
I loved this show when it originally aired. I remember watching it when I was 11 years old. I was also swept up in 90s "mummymania".
I still love this show as an adult.
It's genuinely a LOT of fun.
The complete Series was released on DVD in Germany, with the English language option.
I have an "unofficial" English copy of the German release.
It looks and sounds so good that if I didn't already know it was a bootleg, I'd never be able to tell.
Had thee action figures when I was a kid. Saturday morning classic.......ITS LIT🔥🔥🔥🔥
Mummies alive was one of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid. I preferred Mummies Alive over Gargoyles at the time
Yup, loved this one as a kid. Can't remember the last time ANYONE brought it up though. Thanks for bringing this back to my conciousness.
This series could've done greater things with the Egyptian mythos, but instead of making more like Moon Knight they made it more like 80's Ninja Turtles.
I used to watch this every day before school. Classic!
Loved this series, wish I had toys of it back in the day.
13:37 runtime. Nice.
Oh yeah I remember this also I hope one day you'll do a video on Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys.
I loved watching Mummies Alive, I ended up tracking down the out of Print Mummies Alive movie on DVD.
One of my favorite TV shows of my childhood! Thanks for the amazing nostalgia kick!
I only know of the show because of Scott McNeil, whom I know for his roles as Wolverine in X-Men Evolution and multiple characters in the He-Man show in the early 2000s (and the Evil Masked Figure's voice in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed), but I know him best from a DIC Entertainment show called Extreme Dinosaurs where he was the voice of the leader of the titular team, the T-Rex T-Bone. Maybe I'll give this show a try one day.
Ah, Nephertina; every 90's kids' gateway crush into necrophilia. :P
I bought this series from PIDAX, German/English release. Worth it.
oh man! I have fond memories of waking up before middle school and watching the airing of this on UPN. I had no idea it was only 1 season!
I watched Mummies Alive back in the day. I had the figures of Scarab Ja-Kal Fright Sight Rath and Armon and the Shabti warrior.
One of the first action cartoons that gave Africa some shine 👏 had a whole fighting system based off a North African belief system
Dude! MUMMIES ALIVE was dope!
This show was actually DOPE AF! I'm grown and would definitely tune in again. They need a Netflix reboot like Voltron.
Same. We need Studio Mir involved somehow.
Hell no. LD was wasted potential. Literally not enough of the titular mecha.
I remember this series and was bummed that it didn't go longer.
I remember watching this one. Some the best episodes I remember the arc that starred Ja-Kal's scorpion-themed elder brother Arakh and the episode in which Nefertina got hit by Scarab's beauty treatment and became a supermodel. I always what a Yugioh crossover would be like.
The theme song is in my top 10 to top 20 intro of the 90s.
Really loved this show
Mummies Alive! has been a funny joke among my brother and I for the last seven years; while talking about shows we remembered watching as kids, he happened to mention Mummies Alive! and insisted to me that not only have I seen it, but I really liked it as a kid and had toys of the series! This was really weird because I'm the older brother (by three years) and generally have a much stronger memory for childhood nostalgia. I can remember individual episodes of series I otherwise never watched, and yet I was convinced I'd never even heard of Mummies Alive! My brother pulled up the transformation sequence though, and all the memories just came flooding back. The awesome flaming eagle turning into armor, the big guy replacing his missing arm with a mechanical one, I loved it! And had somehow completely forgotten it.
To this day, any time I forget something he always finds a way to make it into a dig about my forgetting this show. "Oh you're sure you left it in your office huh? Just like you're sure you'd never seen the mummies cartoon?"
Really enjoyed Mummies Alive when I saw it. Had good stories and the action was awesome. When watching it I would wonder who would I cast in a live action version. Could only ever foucs on character and that would Harris Stone/Scarab. The actor who would fit the role brilliantly would be the late David Warner. Call it the influence of his roles in Time Bandits, Tron, Batman The Animated Series and all the many other things he had started in. The role would fit him prefectly.
.....good choice!
Mummies Alive is a CLASSIC! Loved it
I remember this show. It came on, for me, super early in the morning during the week before I had to go to school and I wasn't really about getting up any earlier than I had to in the morning on school days so that hurt it.
I don't remember much about it, other than I didn't think it was all that great from a writing standpoint, but I thought the animation was really good and the theme song was an absolute banger!
Mummies Alive was a dope show. I was really getting into the characters. All four guardians are awesome!
Who remember this cartoon that came out between 1995 or 1996 where these guys were playing football and then out of nowhere something happens where everybody starts to mutante into zombie looking version of their former selves, what was the name of that cartoon? 🏟🏈🧟♂️🤔
mutant league they did a review of that cartoon on this channel actually
this was one of my favourite cartoons back in the day, thanks for the trip down memory lane :)
Loved Mummies Alive when it aired! and no joke had a crush on Nefritina (Still kinda do)....
Believe me when I say you were might be only one
Loved this show and the toy line. Very happy to see this video about the show! Thanks so much for putting this out there.
I always like mummies alive. Too bad it didn't get recognition.
I remember this! I was just looking for it on TH-cam the other day
This show always stood out to me. I remember it being reminiscent of anime which I’d recently discovered, at a time when availability was scarce.
Yeah those power up scene were straight out of something like saint seya, or ronin warriors. I remember loving those
i remember this show and seeing the toys at toys r us, but between beast wars and the lost world jurassic park my mom said ''no you have enough toys'' lol.
Like most old cartoons, they will be missed but not forgotten. Long live Thundarr the barbarian.
I will *always* leave a like (and a vote, please, Dan?) at a mention of Thundarr. To this very day one of my two favorite series.
Whatched this every early morning b4 school, b4 Yugioh tapped into my love for anything remotely dealing with Egypt...Mummies Alive was my ish!! & Mighty Max and his Power Cap!!!!.