As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I loved this movie... yeah yeah its cheesy Disney stuff but sometimes its just what a person needs. It sort of put me in the same frame of mind as Casper does; which is that ill happily watch it again for no apparent reason.... The effects were Okay and the acting was Okay (especially the serious bits...and the relationship and interaction between the two main characters was awesome).... (Im just filling my 10 lines of text now so just ignore whatever it is I'm saying here, i don't get this minimum thing) ...i give this an 8 out of 10 ... -Philly

I watch Disney almost everyday of the week. Since I saw the previews of this movie, I was dying to see the premiere. But for some reason, something happened and I don't remember what it was. All I know is that I missed most of the premiere. But I did know that Disney does premieres Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I just couldn't wait. I finally got to watch it some time in Februaury. Oh my goodness! I just loved it. I still love it. It's one of the best Disney movies I've ever seen.I just hope it becomes a DCOM movie because there was a Halloween-type movie last year, or the year before, and it didn't become a movie at all. Earlier this year, I tried looking up the Halloween movie on Disney and they didn't have it. I'm glad I recorded it. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't tell the title. It is called "Scream Team." I think I will try it again. Hang on just a minute. Nope, nothing, nada. Well, I think I might-. Nevermind, I don't want to cause an influence on kids if they are reading this. "Scream Team" is an awesome movie, too.

I like it, and every time I watch it, it always has it's 'charm.' I love watching it again and again, some movies on Disney gets annoying when played over and over again, but this movie isn't one of them. Every time I watch it, it always has the same suspense. I always panic when I know the male character (Pacar) is about to die or something even though I know he isn't. The acting is great too. Pacar and Michalka acts well when they're doing a serious scene. They're facial expression to the way they talk, it's all good. Great to watch, and watch again. For those of you who hasn't seen it and thinks it's JUST a 'Disney movie,' you're wrong =P Watch it.I give it an eight out of ten. The story is good, but isn't realistic. The acting is good.-Josh

As reality television shows are all the rage in the early 21st Century, this film posits an interesting fictional one: "The World's Best Kid Magician". Adding to the novelty, the producers are hiring "kid producers" for individual segments. Each kid producer's job is to find then follow around a candidate for the best kid magician. Allyson (Alyson Michalka), a smart, perky (maybe too perky) teen, has been hired as one of the segment producers. We follow her as she tries out a succession of horrible kid magicians before finding Danny Sinclair (Johnny Pacar), who at first seems like another disaster. It turns out that he has ability but just can't control it. Will he be able to hone his craft and win the show? And just how does he do his mind-boggling yet "accidental" tricks? While the premise is awfully interesting, this is one of Disney's lesser live action films. However, as I think most Disney films (live action as well as animated) are spectacular, a lesser Disney film isn't too bad. There are a number of problems, but I ended up giving Now You See It . . . a 7, or a "C".As I often prefer to do, I'll get the problems out of the way first. Director Duwayne Johnson (who has been an editor on three David Lynch films, including Blue Velvet (1986), and who directed three episodes of the "Twin Peaks" (1990) television series--an odd pedigree for a Disney helmer) makes two moves that do not work very well. One is obvious--parts of the film seem like a reality show, complete with the cheesy music that those usually have, and the over-dramatic dilemmas and "challenges". We could argue that the intention was to spoof such shows, but those sequences do not play very satirically. They just seem like an especially low budget reality show. Maybe this stuff would work for you if you're a fan of such shows, but I tend to hate a lot of them (I've only liked the Andy Kaufman-like practical joke ones, which seem much more mocking of the genre than Now You See It . . . does).The second problem for me, although this was much slighter, was that as an extension of the reality show mentality, Dunham shoots a few sequences in a faux documentary cinéma vérité style, ala The Blair Witch Project (1999). Most of the material closest to that style (such as the kids walking down the hall towards the "secret chamber") is very brief, and some of it even works, but the interview-style bumpers of Allyson seem too much like telling instead of showing.The production design is quite impressive. I love idea of the "Magic Mansion", which is where the bulk of the film is set. (A similar setting was also used to great effect in Clive Barker's 1995 film, Lord of Illusions.) Especially the library, and the secret room in what amounts to the mansion's "dungeon", accessible only through a bank vault-styled door, have a strong Harry Potter vibe to them.The magical performances, while occasionally banal, were just as often intriguing and well staged. Besides, some of them were supposed to be banal--the idea is that these are mostly inexperienced young kids on the upward slope of the learning (and skill) curve, after all.The overarching plot, which involves a few twists and which is occasionally quite nefarious, is very well written by Bill Fritz, who was a story producer and story editor on the legitimate reality shows, "Fear Factor" (2001) and "House Rules" (2003), making him an apt choice.The film is also well acted by the two principals, Michalka and Pacar. The third principal is Frank Langella as Max, who is at least very bizarre and interesting here. I couldn't recall seeing Langella since 1979's Dracula (at least I hadn't seen him in a starring role), so suddenly seeing him 25 years down the pike was strange in itself, now that he's much paunchier and he's adopted a tight-cropped, graying Anton LaVey look to accommodate his receding hairline. As Max, he tends to have an odd smirk, maybe a smarminess, which comes across as fairly campy/cheesy at first but that turns out to be appropriate for the character in retrospect. However, it seems a bit inexplicable why the other people interacting with Max on a regular basis wouldn't think he's a bit loopy. So maybe Langella is being a bit over the top and hammy, just not in a scenery-chewing way. But, I like those qualities. Heck, I thought that Jon Voight should have won an Oscar for Anaconda (1997)! While it's not one of the better Disney live action films, Now You See It . . . is without a doubt one of the more unusual ones. It even has some interesting subtextual layering of the appearance/reality distinction that's the heart of magic. Enjoyable despite its flaws, you shouldn't miss this one if you see it airing again. It would also be worth picking up on DVD if it makes it to that format and you are a huge Disney fan, as I am.