The Mermaid

The Mermaid (French: La Sirène) is a 1904 French silent trick film by Georges Méliès, the father of motion picture special effects. He walks on stage and sees an empty aquarium. He pours some water from there into his hat, and catches fish out of the hat which he puts into the aquarium. He magically turns into a hobo, keeps fishing, pulls rabbits out of the hat, changes back, and finds a mermaid! He turns her into a lovely young woman, and turns himself into King Neptune.