Out of them all, I would go for cardtoon one. I thaught it was a lot more clear than 2, and I haven't had farttoon.

I will probably make my own version in the summer, as I used to animate a lot. it would give it that personal touch too

Same here.

I only own Cardtoon 1, but I can't imagine there is a huge difference in audience reaction between 1 and 2. If you'd like the card pulled out of a hat, then go with 1. If you'd like the cannon animation go with 2. The ads say version 2 is simplified, but honestly, there is nothing hard about version 1, so again, I just can't imagine the benefit of one over another. Pick for the picture you like. Practice, and both will be equally entertaining for your audience.

Chris

I think the problem with cardtoon 2 was that none of the animation was very clear.

I have both versions and like number 1 the best. To me, both animations are clear but version one is more understandable for most audiences. People are used to magicians pulling things out of hats. The handling is the same for both versions so it really doesn't matter which you get.

Personally, I prefer Cardtoon 1 because of the fact that he pulls the card out of his hat. Although I suppose Cardtoon 2 and Fart-toon would be funny if your going for a comedy magician routine.

I saw Dan Harlan perform "Fartoon" using a big screen projector at a convention and everybody loved it. For the right crowd, it's a killer. But, IMO, Cardtoon 1 is still the best.

Robert

I highly recommend that you look up the effect called Animator. It's by David Harkey. It can be found in his book, "Simply Harkey". It's a phenonenally better effect than Cardtoon.

You show a deck of cards - faces all different, backs all clean - and have one selected, noted, and returned to the deck. You proceed to draw a stick figure holding a paintbrush on the back of the top card. Then, as you flip the deck like the pages of a book, the stickman comes to life, animating as he seemingly sinks into the deck, and drawing an "X" with his paintbrush.
Once he has stopped and is leaning confidently against his "X", you remove that card. It is the selected card, with the stickman drawing permanently on the back. You can give this to the spectator to keep.
The backs of all the other cards are immediately shown to be clean and ordinary.

Then there are also The Animated deck (Harlan - Tenyo) and Toony Angel (Maxwell)

Fart-toon is no longer available. From what I understand, they only printed a limited number of these decks and have issued no more. I have it and really enjoy performing for my sick friends! If you're performing for a more refined crowd, Card-toon 1 is the way to go, as it is easier to follow. (Fart-toon is easy to follow, too!)

I have Toony-Angel, and, while cute, I don't think it has the impact of the Harlan versions.

For a version more aimed at women the Tenyo version with the moving fairy is quite good.

I only own 1, but I have seen 2. I enjoy 1 better.

I have seen other versions that use the back and the angels to get the selected card that look good too, but card-toon 1, by far, gets the best reactions.

_Zim

Personally I like Cardtoon 1...the stick man pulls the selection out of the hat...how charming...though not mentioned, some more naturalist may like Toonie Angel by Mike Maxwell (I think)...in it the Angel on the back of the card produces the selection from the spokes of the bicycle he is riding...with a deck switch, this could be pretty cool...the principle of the trick is the same as cardtoon and all its sequels...

To get the best out of this trick, the Cardtoon video is a must. After the release of cardtoon 1, Dan came up with a revised and more fluid handling of the cards. (This is the one you get with cardtoon 2). The video also has different handlings from other magicians and tips on how to make your own gaffs for different endings.

I believe the origional anamated deck was FiFi, which featured an anamated poodle. Abbott's doesn't remember this deck, and Dan says he never heard of it.

This stick-man version of Dan's came onto the market (suspiciously) not too long after the publishing of "Simply Harkey" which includes the effect "Animator", mentioned in my post above.

Cardtoon is simply an inferior lift of that excellent trick.

I like cardtoon 1 better and this is from a spectator point of view.

I have Cardtoon 1 and love it. I also bought the same deck of playing cards (without the stickman) and produced a second Cardtoon for handout!!!

So if you do a deck switch and leave it on the table...
Let the spectator riffle through the cards and NOTHING happens as every card has the same printing (1st animation frame) on it. ;-)

This works really cool for me.

Christian

Great idea!!

Yeah, but must have invested quite some manual labour hours in that one. Probably couldn't stand a stickman for a whole month ;-)