This cage is a magician's prop, based on a [i]production box[/i] known as the [i]Square Circle[/i]. Most such props belong to the [i]gaudy box[/i] school of magic. Celebrated 19th century French conjuror Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin (from whom Houdini derived his nickname) abandoned this school, and disguised his magic apparatus as ordinary, recognizable objects.
This is an attempt to apply the same principle to the classic [i]Square Circle[/i], which is a [i]black-art[/i] box, i.e., it has a black interior to hide the modus operandi. The style is based on the crates/cages in the animated feature [i]Madagascar[/i].
