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The Top Five Circus Movies

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Run Away To The Circus With These Great Circus Movies

Have you always wanted to run away to the circus? Or maybe that is a more recent fascination? Either way, this page allows you to join the circus...from the comfort of your armchair.

On this page, I will share with you five great circus movies: Disney's Dumbo (1941), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Jumbo (1962), The Big Circus (1959) and the newest circus movie, Water For Elephants (2011). I have also added Big Fish (2003), a fantasy movie that is not really a circus movie but that does include a travelling circus. Finally, I included a bit of information about the real life documentary film Circus (2010) and a short list of additional documentaries, which are sure to be of interest to circus lovers.

So let's run away to the circus together...

Click here to see Amazon's
complete collection of circus movies.

"It's romantic. It's real.
And we get to live it."
~ Circus (2010)

The Five Best Circus Movies

Disney's Dumbo (1941) Animated Circus Movie

Who doesn't know the circus movie, Dumbo? It is an animated movie, which some argue should be part of your collection even if you do not have children. The storytelling is simple, the characters well laid out. It puts a mean world against an abnormal hero. Jumbo Junior (that is Dumbo's real name) is tormented after he is born with big ears. His mother tries to defend him but winds up tied up. The children tease him mercilessly and the circus folk treat him poorly, too. Only one individual sticks up him and that is Timothy Q. Mouse, an unusual friend for an elephant.

Dumbo won an ACADEMY AWARD FOR ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE.

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The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) Drama Circus Movie

Starring Charlton Heston and Betty Hutton.

The Greatest Show on Earth

The Greatest Show on Earth

Amazon Price: $4.49 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now
List Price: $9.99


The Greatest Show on Earth is not a movie that I have seen but I have read positive things about it since I saw Water For Elephants and now it is on my list of movies to see. It was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and it attempted to show what life inside the Ringling Brother's Circus might have been like. Whether it was actually that way or not is subject to debate.

The Greatest Show on Earth stars a young Charlton Heston, as a circus manager; Cornel Wilde and Betty Hutton as trapeze artistes; Gloria Grahame with the elephants; and James Stewart as a clown. Amazon calls it a "fried-baloney sandwich of a movie: it ain't sophisticated, and probably isn't good for you, but once you start you can't stop." They also state that it did very well at the box office in 1952 and went on to win the OSCAR FOR BEST PICTURE.

Release Date: 04/06/2004

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The Big Circus (1959)

Starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Red Buttons, Rhonda Fleming and Steve Allen.

Big Circus

Big Circus

Amazon Price: $11.27 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now
List Price: $19.99


The Big Circus is said to do an expert job of capturing the events in the big top. It included an all-star cast -- Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Victor Mature and Red Buttons and a story written by Irwin Allen, who also brought us The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. The story is that of a circus on the brink of bankruptcy. Unfortunate events unfold when an accountant sets out to determine whether or not a loan can be given to the circus to help it stay afloat.

Release Date: 06/22/2009

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Jumbo (1962) Circus Movie

Starring Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye and Dean Jagger.

Billy Rose's Jumbo

Billy Rose's Jumbo

Amazon Price: $24.41 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now
List Price: $19.98


Jumbo is considered one of the last big MGM musicals and it was Doris Day's last musical role in a movie. In this film, Pop Wonder (Jimmy Durante) owns The Ringling Brothers circus, which is famous for one main attraction, Jumbo the elephant. Doris Day appears as his daughter Kitty, a bareback rider.

This movie included some real circus performers, which made the circus scenes even more real although it is said that Doris Day did her own stunt work. It is a lavish production that was nominated for a music related Academy Award.

Release Date: 04/26/2005

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Water For Elephants (2011)

Water For Elephants is the 2011 circus movie, which stars Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson.

Water For ElephantsYou will love Water For Elephants because it is all about life with this new circus movie, which is set during the Depression years. Times were tough and they were rough and this movie really shows what it might have been like to live in those troubled times.

The story itself is fictional but the author of the book Water For Elephants invested quite a bit of energy learning about the circuses of the 1920s and 1930s. The movie is historically relevant and includes references from real circus lore. A great love story, a great movie reflecting the time period but definitely NOT a great family-friendly circus movie. Don't make the mistake of thinking that Water For Elephants is a family movie. It definitely is NOT. Read more here:
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Order Your Copy of Water For Elephants

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Big Fish (2003) A Fantasy Movie

Not a circus movie exactly, Big Fish does, however, include a travelling circus.

Big Fish is a Tim Burton film, which shares the stories of Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) and Albert Finney (Tom Jones). Edward's son Will (Billy Crudup) is frustrated with his father's storytelling, because he thinks they have kept him from getting to know who his father really was. However, he tries to learn more about his father when he is dying by reliving the stories -- including a travelling circus -- told about his life.

Big Fish also stars Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Danny DeVito, and Steve Buscemi, an impressive lineup.

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Circus (2010)

A documentary film following the travels of the Big Apple Circus.

CIRCUS | Welcome to the Circus | PBS
by PBS | video info

78 ratings | 35,651 views
curated content from YouTube
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Watch this PBS documentary film, and run away with a REAL, modern-day circus. Follow the company of the Big Apple Circus on their tour -- 350 shows in one year. Travel from town to town and enter the heart of the circus. Meet REAL circus people and learn who they are and why they joined the circus. Enjoy the intrigues and romances as well as the successes and failures. Learn what it is really like to live in the circus.

Click here to order your copy of
Circus (2010)
on DVD or blu-ray disc.

More Documentary Films About The Circus

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Click here to see Amazon's collection
of Jim Shore circus pieces.

More Circus Pages

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Movie Movie Lists

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Can you recommend any other great circus movies?

  • BevsPaper Jul 10, 2011 @ 5:20 pm | delete
    All great circus movies. Have not seen the Water For Elephants yet...it is on our queue though.
  • jlbedryk Jul 1, 2011 @ 3:17 am | delete
    This is a fantastic lens!! Just what I was looking for.
  • TapIn2U Jun 11, 2011 @ 12:44 am | delete
    I've always known Dumbo and I'm a fan. I must watch Water for Elephants too. Nice lens! Sundae ;-)
  • tandemonimom Jun 5, 2011 @ 9:32 am | delete
    I haven't seen a good circus movie in a long while. Maybe I'll watch Water for Elephants!
  • Joan4 Jun 4, 2011 @ 5:17 pm | delete
    I well remember "The Greatest Show on Earth" as a child. I pretended to be a trapeze artist in our swings for months after that! I must see Water for Elephants soon!
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Treasures-By-Brenda

Run away with me to the circus through the five best circus movies.

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