gross

Ok, aside from the fact that the circus is stupid and trite, it is insanely unecessarily cruel to animals. The New York Times is all over it, citing it for nostalgia and crap. And they are pretty sexist about it, stating
The plot also reaches back to the mythology of circus life: a family that has always dreamed of being in the circus is selected from the audience. Dad becomes the Ringmaster (Chuck Wagner), Mom becomes a trapeze artist (Gisela Riquelme), their daughter, Jan (Lucilene Correa), turns dancer, and their son, Dan (played by both Ruirui Zhu and Dashan Hou), is seeking his special role. Essentially, the entire family runs away and joins the circus.

It's bad enough we had to endure the tired, scared elephants being dragged across the island of Manhattan only to be led to their new home, the cramped quarters of the bowels of Madison Square Garden.

Check out this video here.