Amazing Magic Tricks You Can Do; Secrets Of Magic With Dikki Ellis, Vol. 1

Fads in toys come and go, but young people's interest in magic remains strong. Two new videos encourage children to become practitioners of the old sleight-of-hand using simple objects found around most homes. The weaker of the pair, Amazing Magic Tricks You Can Do, stars magician Shawn O'Toole, his puppets, and the "Shawnoteers" (kids who help O'Toole perform his tricks). Viewers learn a half dozen tricks ranging from the simple disappearing coin trick to the more complicated illusion of eating silverware. The program is routinely interrupted for comic segments with guest Bob Markwood which seem to be more fun for the filmmakers than viewers. Overall, while the handful of tricks are fine, O'Toole doesn't maintain good eye contact with the camera (i.e., the audience), too much time is wasted on attempts at humor, and the presentation is low-budget. Aimed at age 6 and up.Much better is Secrets of Magic with Dikki Ellis, Vol. 1, which teaches a dozen nifty tricks using money, rubber bands, toothpicks, scarves, and a salt shaker. Ellis performs a few tricks in front of his young audience, and then moves to a studio setting, where each trick is broken down into its component parts. In addition to the excellent demonstrations, Ellis also offers some good general pointers about conducting magic tricks and includes a handful of warm-up prestidigitation exercises. Kids 6 and up will really like this one.Amazing Tricks You Can Do is not recommended. Secrets of Magic with Dikki Ellis, Vol. 1 is highly recommended. (R. Pitman)