Look to your left! Ten elephants are walking around a ring on their hind legs! Between the elephants and clowns, high above the floor, a woman swings and spins in the air! You guessed it—the circus is in town! The article examines titles in film entertainment.
1. What Is a Circus?
A circus is a show that includes a variety of entertaining acts. It’s usually a travelling show that moves from town to town. Circuses perform in an arena or under a big tent.
Some circuses stay in one place. The famous Moscow State Circus in Russia has performed in Moscow for many years.
Most circus acts take place in a round area called a ring. Small circuses have one or two rings. The largest circuses have three rings. Perhaps the most famous circus in the world is the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
It was the first-ever three-ring circus, with acts going on at the same time in every ring. It still calls itself the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
What will you see at a circus? Well, you might see acrobats, jugglers, and tightrope walkers. You might see elephants parading, tigers jumping through flaming hoops, or skilled horseback riders performing tricks.
You certainly will see clowns, and lots of them! Throughout the show, a circus band plays lively music.
The Ringmaster
The ringmaster is the person in charge of the circus floor. He or she is your host. The ringmaster might wear a tuxedo and a top hat. He might even sing and dance. But whether it’s a one-, two-, or three-ring circus, the ringmaster will introduce you to all the exciting acts you’ll see.
Animal Acts
Most circuses feature animal acts. In fact, the modern circus began with an animal act back in the 1700s. A former soldier named Philip Astley performed tricks on horseback in England.
His style of show, which became known as Astley’s Circus, was a hit. Circuses soon spread through Europe and then to the United States.
Over time, circuses added many other animal acts. Today, you might see bears, lions, tigers, chimpanzees, or dogs performing tricks at the circus.
One of the most popular circus animals is the elephant. These intelligent and playful animals can learn many tricks. They are so sure-footed that they can balance on one foot.
Acrobats Above And Below
Some acrobats perform on the ground, and some perform high in the air. On the ground, you’ll see acrobats tumble and jump over one another.
You’ll see them stand on each other’s shoulders to form huge human pyramids. Acrobats on horseback perform amazing and dangerous tricks while their horses trot around the ring.
In the air, you’ll see the acrobats on the trapeze, a swing high above the ground. Trapeze artists do daring midair spins and jump from one swing to the next. Sometimes, members of a trapeze team throw each other through the air!
Tightrope walkers also perform their exciting acts in the air. They walk, do somersaults, and even ride bicycles—all while balancing on a thin wire high above the floor.
Send in the Clowns!
What’s a circus without clowns? Every circus has them. Dressed in funny costumes and makeup, clowns entertain the audience between the other acts. Clowns play pranks on each other and perform comic stunts, such as tripping over their own shoes. Some clowns are skilled acrobats.
How do you learn to be a clown? Believe it or not, you go to special clown schools! The most famous is the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in Venice, Florida. Since 1968, more than 1,200 clowns have graduated from the school.
2. Disneyland and Disney World
Have you met Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse? If you have, you’ve probably been to Disneyland or Disney World. These popular theme parks are based on Walt Disney cartoons and motion pictures. You can enjoy rides and other attractions, too.
What Is Disneyland Like?
Disneyland was the first Disney theme park. It opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Disneyland was created by cartoonist Walt Disney. He invented Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and many other cartoon characters. Walt Disney died in 1966.
Walt Disney wanted rides at Disneyland to be like stepping into a fantasy world. You can ride around and around in a giant teacup at the Mad Tea Party. It’s borrowed from the Mad Hatter’s party in Alice in Wonderland.
You can fly through the air on the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride. You can glide in a boat and watch pirates fight in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. You can ride an old-time train around the park. You can also stay at Disneyland hotels.
What Is Disney World Like?
Disney World opened near Orlando, Florida, in 1971. It has four different theme parks. The Magic Kingdom came first. It has many of the same rides and attractions as Disneyland. The spires of Cinderella’s castle soar above the Magic Kingdom.
It also has some science exhibits. At Epcot, you can “visit” such countries as China, England, France, Morocco, Japan, and Mexico. You can eat the foods of these countries or buy gifts made there.
The other two theme parks at Disney World are Disney-MGM Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park. At Animal Kingdom, you can take a safari ride to see elephants, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, and lions.
There are also two Disney water parks: Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. Both parks have water slides and other water adventures.
You can stay at one of almost 20 theme resorts owned by the Walt Disney Company near Orlando. The Grand Floridian is a very fancy resort. The Caribbean Beach resort looks like a tropical beach.
You can even stay at a Disney campground. Boats, buses, and a monorail connect all the Disney World theme parks.
Disney’s Other Worlds
The Walt Disney Company opened Tokyo Disneyland in Tokyo, Japan, in 1983. It opened Euro Disney (later renamed Disneyland Paris) outside of Paris, France, in 1992.
3. Movies
What is your favourite movie? Maybe you like cartoon-like movies. Maybe you like a movie that is full of action. Movies are a wonderful kind of make-believe.
A movie is a series of pictures. Each image is a still photograph, just like a picture you take with a regular camera. But the pictures flash by so fast in a movie that the images bleed and overlap.
As a result, you see horses run, people talk, cars plunge over mountainsides, and other kinds of motion. That’s why movies are sometimes called motion pictures. Movies are also called films because they are photographed, or filmed.
How Do They Make Cartoons?
Cartoons are called animated films. Artists draw the scenes. They draw the background and the characters. Each drawing of the character is slightly different. For example, the legs are in different places if the character is running.
A special camera takes pictures of each scene the artist has drawn. When the pictures are played back, it looks like the character is running. Making drawings that seem to move is called animation.
Some enjoyable animated films include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994), and Finding Nemo (2003).
In some films, there are both animated characters and human actors, as in Space Jam (1996). Space Jam stars Bugs Bunny and basketball star Michael Jordan.
Who Works on Movies?
Many different people work on a movie. The producer finds money to pay for the film, hires people to make the movie, and gets the movie to theatres.
The director imagines how the film should look and guides the actors and the crew as they make the movie. Assistants help the producer and the director.
Screenwriters write an original story for the movie, or they work with a story told in a book. Actors play characters in the story. Designers make the sets and costumes. The camera crew runs the cameras that film the movie.
Dozens of short scenes have to be put together after the filming is done. That is the job of the film editors.
Sound editors add background noises, such as honking horns, in a scene on a busy street. In action films, stuntmen and stuntwomen often fill in for the actors and perform dangerous moves that could lead to injury. Read the similar post on this page.
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