History Main / CircusEpisode

* WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons'': ''Terror on the Midway'', where Superman has to save spectators from a [[KillerGorilla ferocious gorilla]]. Notably the last short made by FleischerStudios.

* ''[[Literature/MissBindergarten Miss Bindergarten Plans A Circus With Kindergarten]]''.

* ''Series/QuantumLeap'' goes to the circus in "Leaping in Without a Net", which has Sam Leap into a trapeze artist. Unfortunately, [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Sam is afraid of heights...]]

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'': The third episode is about a murder at the Berry Big Circus.

** In the ''Perils Of Penelope Pitstop'' episode, "Big Top Trap", Penelope and the Ant Hill Mob are rehearsing for their performance in a charity circus, where she does a trapeze act and they are clowns. As usual, the Hooded Claw sets death traps for Penelope, and even [[VillainousCrossdresser impersonates her]] at one point.

* ''Series/New Tricks'': In "Big Topped", the UCOS team face the challenge of explaining the death of a circus ringmaster who burned to death in his caravan, leaving only his feet behind.

* An episode of ''Manga/MaicchinguMachikoSensei'' features the main character Machiko takes part in a circus. Tamako, the vice principal is worried. The reason for this is because Machiko is performing in front of a large audience which means that she will end up with her clothes torn off. Her warnings fall on deaf ears. Sure enough, a tiger happens to get lose and tear Machiko's costume off.

* The ''Literature/{{Madeline}}'' book and TV special ''Madeline and the Gypsies'' involve Madeline and Pepito joining a traveling circus.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'' involves Madeline and Pepito joining a traveling circus.

* On ''WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'', the ''Magnificent Muttley'' short "The Big Topper" has Muttley imagining himself and Dick Dastardly as rival circus performers.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop'' episode "Big Top Trap", Penelope and the Ant Hill Mob are rehearsing for their performance in a charity circus, where she does a trapeze act and they are clowns. As usual, the Hooded Claw sets death traps for Penelope, and even [[VillainousCrossdresser impersonates her]] at one point.

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': In "Rent-a-Ed," Eddy's latest scam is forming a circus act with Ed and Double D as "The Flying Eduardo Brothers," which, of course, impresses none of the other cul-de-sac kids.

* ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'': The "Bumbling Bros. Circus" arc involves Bullwinkle becoming the Bumbling Brothers' new lion tamer after his is able to soothe a savage lion with his hum-a-comb (blowing through his comb through a handkerchief), but is also able to entertain the other animals with it as well. At the same time, Boris was fired from being the circus' lion tamer, so he makes continuous efforts to sabotage the circus as revenge.

* ''[[MissBindergarten Miss Bindergarten Plans A Circus With Kindergarten]]''.

* In the ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' story, "Henry and the Elephant", the circus comes to the Island of Sodor. The engines have a wonderful time pulling the train, until it is time for the circus to leave. It is later revealed that an elephant escaped from the circus and is hiding in Henry's Tunnel, and it's up to Henry, his crew, and the elephant's keeper to get the elephant back. This story was also adapted into an episode of the fourth season of the AnimatedAdaptation, ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine''.

* In addition to the adaptation of "Henry and the Elephant" (see the Literature section), ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' also has the episode, "Thomas and the Circus". The circus comes to the Island of Sodor, and Thomas is chosen to pull the circus train. Due to how many freight cars there are, Thomas is told by Sir Topham Hatt to share the workload with another engine. Despite this advice, Thomas is determined to pull the heavy train all by himself, and as a result, breaks down towards the end of the episode. This breakdown leaves Thomas so sad, that not even the circus performers can cheer him up. After James and Percy arrive and bring him replacement parts and hay for the animals, Thomas apologizes to them and shares the workload with them.

* One of the nearest things ''Series/TheXFiles'' has to a comic-relief episode has Mulder and Scully investigating a series of disappearances in a small town that relies economically on the circus industry. Just about everyone they meet is a circus performer of some kind - even the local sheriff is a former "dog-boy".

* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', human characters can opt for their biggest regret to be that they turned down a chance to perform in the circus. They get a second chance in an early story arc that involves joining and infiltrating a circus that's actually a front for criminal activities.

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': In "Rent-a-Ed," Eddy's latest scam is forming a circus act with Ed and Double D as "The Flying Eduardo Brothers," which of course, impresses none of the other cul-de-sac kids.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'' involves Madeline and Pepito joining a travelling circus.

* ''WesternAnimation/AlfredJKwak'': Alfred the duck joins the circus in one of the early episodes as a young man, filling in for the circus clown while he's ill. However, when a dangerous [[LionsAndTigersAndHumanityOhMy human beast]] escapes during Alfred's performance and kidnaps the female star, he's forced to save the day with his improvisational skills.

This trope is when a series or franchise that is not usually about a circus suddenly focuses on a circus for an episode. In VideoGames, a single circus-based level would not qualify, but a game that features a circus prominently in a series that is not usually about a circus would.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'', the team of Mung's Catering is tasked with baking a circus tent out of bread (a pun on the phrase "BreadAndCircuses") for a group of performers called the Flying Flinger Lingons. Chowder loves the [=FFLs=]' act so much that he runs away to join them. Because he is TooDumbToLive, Mung is worried that Chowder will destroy the circus, so he, Truffles, and Schnitzel sneak in to try and get him back.

* An episode of ''Manga/MaicchinguMachikoSensei'' feature tha main character Machiko takes part in a circus. Tamako, the vice principal is worried.T he reason for this is because Machiko is performing in front of a large audience which means that she will end up with her clothes torn off. Her warnings fall on deaf ears. Sure enough, a tiger happens to get lose and tear Machiko's costume off.

* ''Anime/AstroBoy'': In "Robot Circus", one of the members of a robot circus, Reno is actually a human boy disguised as a robot. When this is discovered, the authorities try to take the boy away from his robot family.

* Jonah joins a travelling circus as a trick shooter in #15 of the original series of ''ComicBook/JonahHex''.

* In ''Doctor Dolittle's Circus'', Literature/DoctorDolittle and his animal friends join a circus to make some money, taking advantage of his ability to talk to the animals to put together impressive performing-animal acts.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'' involves Madeline and Pepito joining a travelling circus.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}''
** In the episode, "Circus Angelicus", the babies are forced to leave the circus when Chuckie cries out of his fear of clowns, and Tommy cries to back him up. Angry that she has to leave when she wasn't crying like them, Angelica stages her own circus in Tommy's backyard. Her circus features Tommy as a "lion trainer" and Spike as the lion, Phil and Lil as trapeze artists, and Chuckie as the human "candyball".
** In the episode, "Clown Around", Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Kimi, and Angelica go to the circus. While the other babies have fun, Chuckie is afraid of clowns. Angelica tricks the babies into thinking that Chuckie is going to turn into a clown, and after having a red snow-cone, clown shoe souvenirs, and a run-in with a powder puff, Chuckie ends up looking like a clown. He even gets roped into the center ring to perform with the clowns. Meanwhile, Angelica sneaks into the center ring to be a trapeze artist, which gets her in a lot of trouble when Drew sees her.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' episode, "Circus of Plunders", after a fall-out with Tails from one of his inventions, Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks get jobs at T.W. Barker's Circus of Wonders, as most of his performers were reportedly sick from eating bad sushi. Sonic is given the job of running in the "Sphere of Fear" at unparalleled speeds, Knuckles becomes a HumanCannonball, Sticks becomes an acrobat, and Amy becomes a SadClown (much to her dismay). It is later revealed that Barker is an extremely cunning ConMan with two bears dressed as clowns as well as some robots he ordered from Dr. Eggman as Mooks, and that his other performers actually ran away from the circus. Thus, when he holds Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks hostage, it's up to Tails to rescue them.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' episode, "Send in the Clown", King Koopa stages the Koopaling Bros. Circus, and invites the cavepeople to see it for free. Mario, suspecting it may be a trap, travels to Koopa's neon castle to see the circus for himself. After a performance from Koopa's mooks, it is revealed that the circus is indeed a trap, and Koopa captures Mario, his friends, and the cavepeople. With help from Princess Toadstool, Mario escapes and battles Koopa's mooks, leading to a battle with Koopa himself, reminiscent of the final battle from [[VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld the game the show is based on]].
* In addition to the adaptation of "Henry and the Elephant" (see the Literature section), ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' also has the episode, "Thomas and the Circus". The circus comes to the Island of Sodor, and Thomas is chosen to pull the circus train. Due to how many freight cars there are, Thomas is told by Sir Topham Hatt to share the workload with another engine. Despite this advice, Thomas is determined to pull the heavy train all by himself, and as a result, breaks down towards the end of the episode. This breakdown leaves Thomas so sad, that not even the circus performers can cheer him up. After James and Percy arrive and bring him replacement parts and hay for the animals, Thomas apologizes to them and shares the workload with them.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode, "Sawdust and Toonsil", Silas Wonder's Wonderful Circus of Wonderment comes to Acme Acres, and he invites Buster, Babs, and Plucky to see it. Is it later revealed that Silas is a RepulsiveRingmaster who captures rare and exotic animals, horribly mistreats them (practically poaching them), and extorts them for profit. When Gogo Dodo tries to rescue them, he gets captured by Silas, who needs him to complete his collection of rare and exotic animals. This, it's up to Buster, Babs, and Plucky to sneak into the circus to save Gogo and his friends.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': "Circus of Fear", where Grim goes to an underworld circus with Billy and Mandy, who end up getting kidnapped by the ringmaster Doctor Fear.
* ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'': "The Great Pantzini" has Cow and Chicken sent to the Red Guy's circus to be performers.
* WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons'': ''Terror on the Midway'', where Superman has to save spectators from a [[KillerGorilla ferocious gorilla]]. Notably the last short made by FleischerStudios.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'', the team of Mung's Catering is tasked with baking a circus tent out of bread (a pun on the phrase "BreadAndCircuses") for a group of performers called the Flying Flinger Lingons. Chowder loves the [=FFLs=]' act so much that he runs away to join them. Because he is TooDumbToLive, Mung is worried that Chowder will destroy the circus, so he, Truffles, and Schnitzel sneak in to try and get him back.
* In one episode of the AnimatedAdaptation of ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'', a travelling circus visits Redwall Abbey. The Abbeydwellers are suspicious of the circus, especially [[KnifeThrowingAct the knife thrower]]. However, while said knife thrower ultimately turns out to be benevolent, BigBad Cluny the Scourge has some of his {{Mooks}} join the circus so they can infiltrate Redwall. Interestingly, [[AdaptationExpansion this plot was made up for the cartoon, and was not present in the book]].
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'', Johnny goes to a circus led by the FemmeFatale ringmaster Vivian Vixen, who has captured recurring character Jungle Boy, forcing him to perform circus tricks. Johnny falls for Vivian immediately, not realizing that she's evil. She takes advantage of him, manipulating him into helping her keep Jungle Boy under control.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BigTopScoobyDoo'', Scooby-Doo and the gang investigate the mystery of a chain of jewel robberies reported as being committed by werewolves. The team decides to go undercover as circus performers in order to catch the people responsible.

* ''WesternAnimation/WonderPets'' had a particularly odd one that was a borderline BizarroEpisode. The three pets are [[PartTimeHero part time heroes]] and in all other episodes everyone is a normal animal implied to speak AnimalTalk. The circus is different. The ringmaster was a penguin, not a human, and the audience were all wild animals wearing clothing. It showed animals were riding a normal sized train in front of a school and no humans caring. You may think that this indicates that all the "humans" in the show (who are never actually seen) are actually animals that treat smaller animals as pets but it was explicitly said in early episodes that the humans were humans. The episode was full of FurryConfusion in a series devoid of it.
* The ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' episode "Gadget at the Circus" has Inspector Gadget infiltrating a circus which is a front for MAD to commit crimes wherever the circus stops.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In "bound for Rescue", the younglings join a circus to infiltrate Hondo's camp and rescue Ahsoka.

* In ''Westernnimation/BigTopScoobyDoo'', Scooby-Doo and the gang investigate the mystery of a chain of jewel robberies reported as being committed by werewolves. The team decides to go undercover as circus performers in order to catch the people responsible.

* ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheMiracleMask'' takes place in the town of Monte d'Or, which is loved for its circus and amusement park. The game begins with a circus parade including jugglers, stilt-walkers, and a giant clown balloon. There are many NonIronicClowns to talk to, and one minigame involves training a rabbit to perform circus tricks.

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