Forgetful Freddie
Type: kids, parlor, stage
Skill Level: 
Retail Price: $140
Effect: The magician tells the little kids about a boy named Freddy
who was so forgetful, someone said that one day he would even forget his
head, if it wasn't attached to his body. He then shows that it isn't attached
and one day Freddy forgot his head. The magician makes a replacement head
by blowing up a balloon and drawing a face on it and attaching to the body
by the bow tie. The magician gets the kids in the audience to shout some
magic words and POP goes the balloon and BACK comes his head. When the
balloon pops Freddy's head visibly reappears!
Performance Time: About three minutes
Reset Time: Less than 1 minute
Angles: 
Quality: There are a few of these by different manufacturers. Most
are made of painted wood and have a removable base and pack flat. Generally,
they are about two feet tall. There is "Freddy" (the boy), ...."Freida"
(the girl)....and "Freddy" (the cub scout). There is even seen
the same effect with a gorilla. As with all painted wood props, handle
with care they chip easily.
Dr. Mitch: When performing Forgetful Freddie there is a good opportunity for a little fun by drawing a goofy face on the balloon. Most performers do not spend nearly enough time doing and miss out on some big laughs. Aside from that, this is a yawn-er. Ok...lets think here....there are many things I would not use here for kids... the foremost is the decapitation theme; then a balloon is used which pops and not only startles the kids awake, but sends pieces of rubber (bad for little mouths) into the audience. Personally, I just never liked this trick. First off, the image of Freddy is HOW OLD ?? I mean knickers and a bow tie ?? Do any of you perform for kids in knickers and bow ties ???? I sure don't.This gives you some idea of how old this effect is. It needed an update...and then, wow, instead of making Freddy look more modern, someone came out with the idea of making him look like KING KONG, and I liked it even less. This is one of my pet peeves....let's design some NEW effects folks....not merely change the look of an old effect to fit the hot character of the moment....I mean really, Run, Barney, Run....or Hippity Hop Furbys...maybe Fraidy Cat Teletubbies.......puh-lease! Ignore this effect.
Mike Maione: Lighten up Mitch. I think Forgetful Freddie is a great kids' show prop. The kid depicted is cute. He doesn't need to be modernized? And, for your information, I wear a bow tie on occasion.
The effect is a classic and been around for a long time for a good reason... it works. And, there are many versions of it for a good reason... it works. The effect can be tons of fun. David Ginn, uses the King Kong version and has published his routine. I think Steve Taylor has a version in which character's head vanishes because he watches too much TV and he becomes nothing but an airhead... i.e. balloon head. Of course, when he learns his lessons the airhead pops and his head reappears.
If there is a drawback with this trick, it's that it's big and takes a lot of space in your trunk. For many of us that means more trips to the car... and more time to get from job to job. But in the end, if you do kid's shows, you'll like Forgetful Freddie.
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