Calder's 1927 Great Circus

On behalf of "oppressed bugs everywhere," an inventive ant named Flik hires a troupe of warrior bugs to defend his bustling colony from a horde of freeloading grasshoppers led by the evil-minded Hopper.

Back To Africa

Dumbo is a baby elephant born with over-sized ears and a supreme lack of confidence. But thanks to his even more diminutive buddy Timothy the Mouse, the pint-sized pachyderm learns to surmount all obstacles.

The Pickle Family Circus was founded by Lorenzo Pisoni's parents in 1974. The film documents the spirit, the lunacy, the daring, the danger and the dynamics of growing up in a circus family.

Vienna’s Prater is an amusement park and a desire machine. No mechanical invention, no novel idea or sensational innovation could escape incorporation into the Prater. The diverse story-telling in Ulrike Ottinger’s film “Prater” transforms this place of sensations into a modern cinema of attractions. The Prater’s history from the beginning to the present is told by its protagonists and those who have documented it, including contemporary cinematic images of the Prater, interviews with carnies, commentary by Austrians and visitors from abroad, film quotes, and photographic and written documentary materials. The meaning of the Prater, its status as a place of technological innovation, and its role as a cultural medium are reflected in texts by Elfriede Jelinek, Josef von Sternberg, Erich Kästner and Elias Canetti, as well as in music devoted to this amusement venue throughout the course of its history.

Elephants are among the most majestic and intelligent creatures on Earth--but for hundreds of years, they have suffered at the hands of humans. Narrated by Lily Tomlin, this documentary short traces our long history with elephants and explores the many problems that arise when they are brought to live in captivity in zoos and circuses.

Recently orphaned, a young boy is taken in by his godmother who is shocked to realize that she can see the boy's imaginary friend: a flamboyant, French magician named Bogus.

Young Pinocchio runs away from his genius creator Jepetto. Accompanied by his horse Tibalt, he aims to see the world while joining the traveling circus ran by hustler Modjafocco.

Pippi Longstocking is an extraordinary little girl who lives alone in her house, while her father sails the seven seas. Pippi's irrepressibly fun nature makes her easy to befriend, as neighbors Tommy and Annika find, but can also earn ire, especially from social worker Mrs. Prysselius.

Life as the sole sale item in the clearance corner of Eben's Bikes can get lonely. So Red, a unicycle, dreams up a clown owner and his own juggling act that steals the show. But all too soon, the applause turns into the sound of rainfall, as reality rushes back. Red must resign himself to sitting in the corner and await his fate.

An old Chinese man rides into the town of Abalone, Arizona and changes it forever, as the citizens see themselves reflected in the mirror of Lao's mysterious circus of mythical beasts.

A young girl has already seen everything there is to see and her world has lost all meaning. Her anger shatters her world and she finds herself in the universe of QUIDAM, where she is joined by a playful companion, as well as another mysterious character who attempts to seduce her with the marvelous, the unsettling and the terrifying.

The Chinese consider the lion a symbol of good luck, so it's a half-dragon, half-lion – a dralion – that is the symbol of the East-meets-West fusion of this performance in which 36 Chinese acrobats join the renowned Canadian troupe. Celebrating the four elements as represented in four colours – blue (air), green (water), red (fire) and ochre (earth) – Dralion combines ancient Chinese circus traditions with Cirque du Soleil's usual stunning elements: the techno-oriented single ring; the multicoloured lights and costumes; the music that mixes rock, New Age and various world influences (though not Chinese); and the madcap clowns that pull a victim out of the audience.

Alegría is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth - it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.

From the Italian 'saltare in banco' – which literally means 'to jump on a bench' – Saltimbanco explores the urban experience in all its myriad forms. Between whirlwind and lull, prowess and poetry, it takes spectators on an allegorical and acrobatic journey into the heart and soul of the modern city.

Icarus is the main character of Varekai, who falls to the ground, breaking his legs as he does. He is suddenly in a strange, new world full of creatures he has never seen before. Parachuted into the shadows of a magical forest, a kaleidoscopic world populated by fantastical creatures, this young man sets off on an adventure both absurd and extraordinary.

The story of an innocent and charming clown who strives to find his own place in the world. KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil. It combines two circus traditions - acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. Between strength and fragility, laughter and chills and turmoil and harmony. KOOZA is set in an electrify8ing and exotic visual world full of surprises, thrills, audacity and total involvement. filmed live in Toronto, Canada with 8 cameras in high definition.

A magician in a carnival--who actually can read minds and levitate people and objects--works with a superintelligent chimp named Alex, who can also talk. The magician and the chimp soon become the stars of the carnival, drawing in big crowds. However, the wild-animal trainer, who has been displaced by the team as the carnival's top act, decides to kidnap Alex and sell him to a medical laboratory for experimentation, thereby getting rid of his competition.

Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.

A Documentary on the Creation of OVO, by Cirque du Soleil