PRODUCT INFORMATION - ROUTINE (Of course, there are countless ways to create your own routine.)
Photos/images and a demo video after the description of this routine
See the video of Charming Choi from Korea below. He makes a full routine about misdirection using the elephant appearance for a color changing tie.
An empty stage
A magician brings a volunteer child up on stage. Two stagehands dressed in safari uniform roll out a cart and assemble a four-sided screen box without the top in full view of the audience.
(Box size: 7 feet tall x 9 feet long x 5 feet wide with a spotlight in the back)
[There could be a jungle music or sound in the background to set the mood.]
The magician shows 6 large picture cards with have different pictures of animals: cow, lion, chicken, zebra, ostrich and elephant.
The magician says: "I am going to make the predicted animal appear but I need a volunteer first." The magician has the child pick one and put it, facing back, on an easel next to the box without showing it to anyone. So neither the child nor the audience knows what the card is.
The magician says: "Let's dress you up for the part." The magician or assistant puts a safari hat on the child. (This helps to cover the child's view.)
Then, the magician says: "Let's take a picture of you!" The child stands at the right (stage-right) front corner of the box with the magician. The magician hands a bag of peanuts to the child as a part of the look, picks one piece for himself/herself and hold it up.
While they are getting ready for pictures, the magician makes a motion to have the stagehands to bring in the assumed "elephant" from behind. One of the stagehand takes the "elephant" inside and gives a thumbs-up (from inside).
[There could be some movements on the screens.]
As they are taking pictures, an elephant trunk shows up from the top inside the box, reaches down and takes (or tries to take) the peanut away from the magician's hand. At this moment, the audience sees the trunk and the magician gestures the audience to keep the secret (of the elephant).
The magician asks the child what his or her favorite color is and takes the child to the stage right side of the box. The child says: "Pink (or any other color)." While talking to the child, the stagehand quietly comes out. The stagehand lifts the side of the screen and hands the can to the stagehand inside, revealing an elephant's foot for a moment.
The next thing you know, the stagehand is up above the box as if he/she were riding on the elephant. He/she shakes the can of spray and start coloring the "elephant" and sinks out of view. This is never seen by the child.
[The magician needs to distract the volunteer from what is going on.]
The magician and the child both walk back to the right (stage-right) front corner of the box. The magician says, "Now, here is my prediction. Lights!" The spot light turns on and reveals a shadow of the full-size "elephant" in the box.
Then, the magician says: "Let's see what the card is on the easel." The magician turns over the card and to the surprise of everyone, it is a chicken.
The magician says: "I can fix this. Watch!" The magician does his/her abracadabra motions and the shadow of the elephant is shrinking into a shape of a chicken.
The magicians opens the front panel of the box and let it fall on the stage floor. There it is a chicken. The magician picks up the chicken and brings down-stage to show the audience and the child. The child goes back to his/her seat as the rest of the box is folded quickly and pushed off stage. This can be either a stuff or real chicken: we will provide a "stuffed" one.
When the stage becomes empty again, everyone spots two piles of elephant poop left where the box was (to be specific, they were supposedly left behind the back screen when the "elephant" was moved inside).
The stagehand comes out, picks up the poop with a broom, picks them up and put it into a paper bag. Then the stagehand goes down to where the volunteer child is sitting and gives the bag to him/her as a funny souvenir.
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ADDITIONAL EFFECTS
At the FINALE of your show, when the curtain closes, the elephant truck peeks out through the curtain in a spotlight and squirts splash of water (with the elephant's trumpet) into the audience.
