DES MOINES, Iowa —

Magic and movies go together like peanut butter and jelly. People always refer to “The magic of the movies” to symbolize the wonder of the medium, or to “Movie magic” to refer to special effects. Since the early days of film, magic has been a part of film. In fact, one of the early versions of an image projecting device was called the Magic Lantern.

Whether merely filming a magician doing his act or as a plot device, magic has also appeared on celluloid since those early days. The film containing probably one of the most famous on-screen magicians, Fantasia and its The Sorcerer’s Apprentice segment, recently celebrated its 85 th Anniversary, and that’s nowhere near the oldest representation of magic on film.

With the advances in special and digital effects over

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