Best 15 Movies to Get Excited About the Circus!

The circus is coming to the Toyota Center this weekend and we're so excited!!! We've been watching circus movies with our kids to get them in the spirit. Here's what we recommend:

Charlie Chaplin's The Circus (1928)

The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) finds work and the girl of his dreams at a circus.

Freaks (1932)

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.

At the Circus (1939)

The Marx Brothers try to help the owner of a circus recover some stolen funds before he finds himself out of a job.

DUMBO (1941)

Dumbo, the fourth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a novelty toy ("Roll-a-Book"). The main character is Jumbo Jr., a semi-anthropomorphic elephant who is cruelly nicknamed "Dumbo". He is ridiculed for his big ears, but in fact he is capable of flying by using his ears as wings. Throughout most of the film, his only true friend, aside from his mother, is the mouse, Timothy — a relationship parodying the stereotypical animosity between mice and elephants.

Greatest Show On Earth (1952)

The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer against a background of circus spectacle.

The Big Circus (1959)

Hank Whirling tries to keep his financially troubled circus on the road despite the efforts of a saboteur who has determined that the show must not go on.

Psycho-Circus (1966)

A circus becomes the location for stolen loot and murder.

Torture Garden (1967)

A special sideshow torture exhibit has the power, according to showman Dr. Diablo, to warn people of evil in their futures. As skeptical customers are shown the greed and violence they're hiding, one of them snaps and kills Diablo. When they run off, we see the murder to be staged as part of the show. One of the customers has hung around to see this, and wants to make a deal with Diablo, aka the Devil.

Berserk (1967)

Monica Rivers is the owner and ringmaster of a traveling circus, and she'll stop at nothing to draw bigger audiences. When a series of mysterious murders begins to occur and some of her performers die gruesomely, her profits soar.

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1883)

In a small American town, a diabolical circus and its demonic proprietor prey on the townsfolk.

Big Top Pee-Wee (1988)

In the sequel to "Pee Wee's Big Adventure", Pee-Wee Herman is a simple farmer in a small town. But after a big storm blows their way, a circus ends up at Pee Wee's farm. So he lets the circus stay at his farm for a while. The circus decides to put on a show with one lovable star, Pee-Wee!

We're Back! A Dinosaurs Story (1993)

Captain New Eyes travels back in time and feeds dinosaurs his Brain Grain cereal, which makes them intelligent and non-violent. They agree to go to the Middle Future (our era) in order to grant the wishes of children in New York city. They are to meet Dr. Bleeb of the Museum of Natural History, but get sidetracked with their new children friends and run into the Captain's evil brother, Professor Screw Eyes, who has other plans for the dinosaurs. They travel via space ship to the 21st century where they befriends with a street-smart boy and a poor-little-rich girl tough-talking but secretly soft-hearted Louie and a neglected cutie named Cecilia, from the opposite sides of the tracks, get rooked into performing in a demented circus run by the scientist's evil brother Professor ScrewEyes, and learns something about friendship.

The Last Circus (2010)

A young trapeze artist must decide between her lust for Sergio, the Happy Clown, or her affection for Javier, the Sad Clown, both of whom are deeply disturbed.

Water For Elephants (2011)

Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)

Did these movies get you excited about the circus? Well, The Ringling Bros Circus will be at the Toyota Center Sep. 26 through the 29. The circus will feature a variety of amazing performers including Acrobat Sergey Novikov who will push the limits of the human body with stunning aerial artistry and movements, the Lopez troupe who are a danger-loving team that will shock you with their intense stunts and bravery, 10,000 pound elephants doing awesome trick and many more performers. You don't want to miss this awesome event when they come into town!

Buy your tickets here

For more information on the Ringling Bros Circus visit their website.