Animated Card Thru Balloon of Death

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Animated Card Thru Balloon of Death

Postby bronz » Feb 18th, '07, 15:14



Haven't posted a review here for a while, and this item is quite new and exciting so here goes.

The Effect

Animated Card Thru Balloon of Death by Kevin James

Well, no one dies, we just wanted to get your attention. A card is selected, shuffled back into the deck and given to the spectator. A black balloon is introduced and a magical gesture is made from the deck to the balloon. The balloon is popped and the selected card is found inside! The performer then explains exactly how the effect was accomplished, showing how the selected card was actually held against the side of the balloon. Only this time he is using a clear balloon for easy illustration. Then all of a sudden you see the card VISUALLY penetrate the side of the balloon! Then the balloon hangs by one edge of the card. Then the card hangs by one corner and begins to spin inside the balloon. Finally the card drops all the way inside and can be handed out for examination. This is very visual and is perfect for TV.

Cost

34.99 from www.alakazam.co.uk

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

2-3

Review

I noticed this in Alakazam a couple of weeks ago and finally gave in at the weekend. The effect is as described above, kind of a sucker effect really in that you do a passable card revelation then offer to teach them how, before blowing their brains out with a joyous penetration (insert childish giggles here).

Part of the beauty of the routine is that you can do the first bit without worrying too much about flashing moves (not that there's anything tricky) because you want them to believe you when you go into the second part of the routine where you do actually teach them how it was done, right up to the part where the card drops through and into a clear sealed balloon which is immediately handed out.

The actual penetration itself looks great and you can practice it over and over without repeating the setup, in fact you can practice all the parts of the routine in isolation which is nice. The setup itself isn't too hard, certainly nothing compared to Airtight (the comparisons with which I'll draw in a second). In the bag you get enough ordinary balloons to be going on with, the instructions and a couple of other little bits and bobs that make the magic. I think most balloons would be ok for the effect but they need to be a bit sturdier than average probably, I broke one the first time I tried the setup on but that was mainly haste. The colours provided are ideal for the presentation.

I know there'll be questions along the lines of 'can it be signed', 'is it like Airtight', etc. so I'll try and cover those now. Firstly, the card can't really be signed. A signed presentation is included in the booklet but I don't know if it would particularly enhance the effect, at least not the way James proposes. After the effect the balloon with the card inside can be fully examined but don't let the spec keep it as you'll need something back. It's much easier overall than Airtight but as a whole routine Airtight is probably stronger, apart from the penetration which is just so visual and lovely. The gimmicks you get are simple and need little effort to bring in and out of play, you could even make it cleaner if you already own another little something, can't be more explicit than that sorry.

As for value for money, it's a bit steep for what you get, but then it is intended as a stand up parlour piece, you won't be cartingit around tables as the balloons have to be inflated in advance. A friend of mine performed this at a parlour gig recently and said it went down very well indeed.

Overall

8/10 good strong effect with an ingenius method.

The artist who does not rise, descends.
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