Writer Commentary: The Big Top

 

The Big Top

Genre: Animation/Family/Adventure

Director: Scott Mosier

Writer: Lon Charles

Producer: Jacob Jones

Voice Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Laura Dern, Zooey Deschanel, Johnny Knoxville, F. Murray Abraham, Brian Tyree Henry, Oliver Platt, Chris Pontius, Will Patton

Plot: In the quaint town of Willowbrook, Zachariah's Traveling Circus Spectacular arrives with a flourish. The year is 1955 and the air around town buzzes with anticipation for this year's circus season. Children cling to their parents, wide-eyed as they enter the circus grounds. Zachariah (voiced by Johnny Knoxville) stands at the entrance to the big top gruffly greeting the townsfolk. [1]

[1] I’ve always been a big fan of carnivals, circuses, and sideshows, but I never really tried hard to delve into that world with my work in LRF. That is, until I scratched that itch just a bit with Believe It or Not! After that, I knew I wanted to do something in that type of environment again, but had trouble with ideas. Finally I had the thought of a family-friendly animated film - something I’m sure seemed shocking to those who follow some of my previous LRF work.

When the show begins, Zachariah warns the audience that they are about to see the greatest show on earth. Vlad the Bear (voiced by Oliver Platt), a hulking brown bear, takes center stage as the audience gasps. He performs wrestling moves on human opponents, as the children watch in awe. [2]

[2] Despite writing a family-friendly animated story here, I admittedly was not very familiar with the genre and format. I tried to watch some Pixar (and other animation studio films) with mixed results for ideas. 

Next up in the show is Frank the Elephant (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry). Frank doesn't need to perform any tricks; his mere size and presence is enough to capture the audience's attention. When he lumbers toward the crowd, the ground trembles. The audience erupts in applause, but Frank is bored with the routine. [3]

[3] One of the biggest hurdles was figuring out the characters. I knew I’d need a big cast of animals for my concept. During this hurdle is around when I reached out to Jacob Jones - who has done more animated films in LRF than any other writer. While I didn’t love all of his projects, I could recognize that he had a knowledge and passion for the format that certainly couldn’t hurt my project here.

Gary the Tiger (voiced by F. Murray Abraham) is next on the program. His orange and black fur now has streaks of grey as he has been part of the circus for decades. He leaps through the regular hoops of fire, but his joints ache. As soon as he gets backstage, he wraps his knees with packs of ice to ease the pain.

Charlotte the Chimpanzee (voiced by Laura Dern) assists the circus' strongman Rick (voiced by Chris Pontius) [4]. She adds weights to his barbell that he lifts high above his head. As soon as the crowd leaves their booth, Rick is unkind to Charlotte. She holds her head down, not knowing what else she can do with her life.

[4] The casting of Johnny Knoxville and Chris Pontius may give away my fandom for the Jackass franchise. Knoxville was on my shortlist for Zachariah pretty early one due to his slow, kind of gravelly voice and comedy abilities. At that point, I just wanted to cast a voice actor for Rick the strongman that could have good chemistry with Knoxville. That narrowed down the list considerably, and Pontius emerged as someone who has worked with Knoxville in and out of Jackass as has good comedic timing - so the choice was made and Pontius was able to make his LRF debut.

Beyond the main tent sit Siamese Twins Gladys and Glora (both voiced by Zooey Deschanel). Conjoined at the hip, they don't really perform. With matching dresses and hair braided together, they are merely there as a sideshow attraction.

Milo the Mouse (voiced by Macaulay Culkin) scurries from tent to tent checking in on the circus animals following the show. Milo isn't a circus employee, just a devoted fan who hitched a ride long ago, small enough to hide from Zachariah. [5] Milo checks in on Vlad, seeing the bear is nursing a scraped paw. Milo tells him that he'll find some honey for him. Next Milo darts over to Frank's stall. Frank is bored and half-asleep. Milo assures Frank that one of these days he'll get to do more than just stand there and audiences will go wild for it. Milo continues his rounds, tending to Gary's tinged fur and Charlotte's sore hands.

[5] As soon as I had the concept figured out, I knew a mouse should be the main character and hero of the story. That immediately clicked the character for me, but figuring out the right voice actor to carry the film was quite a process. I recall Jacob Jones talked me out of a couple of my early ideas, but once I stumbled upon the idea of Mac (as he likes to be called - Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin if you want to go with his legal name) as Milo, it just seemed right. 

Milo continues his nightly rounds, cutting through the accountants' tent to save time. Inside, Zachariah laughs. He proclaims that profit margins are up thanks to paying the animals and Gladys and Gloria less than the rest of the human performers in the circus. Milo's heart sinks. Milo scurries back to the animal wagons, finding Gary. When Milo shares what he overheard from Zachariah, Gary proposes that Milo would be a better circus leader than Zachariah because he actually cares about the performers. A light bulb goes off in Gary's mind, realizing that is the perfect idea... they will start their own circus with Milo as the ringleader. [6]

[6] This seemed like the best way to establish Zachariah as the villain and Milo as the hero - almost a “save the cat” moment for audiences. I know the majority of my films for LRF live in a kind of grey area in terms of characters, but given that this film was aimed at younger audiences I wanted to be way more obvious with the various character elements than I tend to be with my traditionally more adult-oriented projects.

Under the dark of night, the animals gather - the bear, the elephant, the chimp, the tiger, the mouse and even Gladys and Gloria. Together they slip away in the night, leaving Zachariah's circus behind. In a clearing beyond town, the animals set up their own big tent. Gary welcomes them all to Milo's Marvelous Menagerie! Milo is taken aback, but all the performers cheer for their new ringleader. Milo promises that everyone will be equal in their Menagerie - a true circus family. In the morning, Zachariah and Rick storm through their deserted circus grounds. He growls at Rick, proclaiming that all of the animals are traitors.

Milo stands before his group of ragtag performers. Gary, the once-mighty tiger, announces that his days of performing are done but while his body is worn down his mind is still sharp, so he will handle the circus' finances. Vlad the Bear puts on a pair of oversized clown shoes. He tells everyone that he is sick and tired of scaring people. He wants people to laugh as a clown instead. Frank the elephant stands on his hind legs with ease. He announces that he will do tightrope walking now as his balance is perfect. Milo tells everyone that Gladys and Gloria are no longer to be gawked at for their appearance, but instead they will be singing in the show as he learned long ago how beautiful their voices are. Gladys and Gloria give the other performers a sample. Their voices entwine in perfect harmony. Charlotte is restless though. She does not have a talent or skill to help pitch in. Milo comforts Charlotte, assuring her that sometimes finding your passion takes time. [7]

[7] I’ll be the first to admit that The Big Top is a little top heavy with world-building and character set-up - maybe overly so. I tried to stick with a traditional three-act structure here, but Act 1 was probably a bit long in hindsight. I did love getting to show off the character talents in this sequence though. The conjoined twins Gladys and Gloria are some of my favorite characters throughout my filmography with the studio. There’s an innate emotional, visual, and empathetic component to them. And Zooey Deschanel seemed like the perfect to bring them to life.

Under a ratty striped canvas, the small audience of Milo's Marvelous Menagerie's first performance begins to gather - families, children, and some skeptics take their seats as the show begins. Vlad begins the show in clown make-up. He rides a unicycle with his giant shoes as the crowd laughs. Frank tiptoes across the tightrope with ease. Gladys and Gloria sing. Charlotte tries a couple different acts. [8] She tries knife-throwing, but her aim is off. She tries to be a human cannonball, but she soars too high and lands too hard. And being a clown alongside Vlad leaves her feeling empty. At the end of the show, the small but excited audience is thunderous. Milo stands in the shadows, watching as his motley crew take their bows.

[8] The concept of Charlotte’s character came pretty early in the writing process, even before I knew which animals would serve which purpose in the story. I just knew I wanted one of the animals to not have an obvious natural talent like some of the others. An outcast among outcasts.

Milo's Marvelous Menagerie grows more popular around town. Zachariah fumes as his once-packed seats are now empty as the townspeople of Willowbrook have instead flocked to Milo's show, drawn by the promise of a show that is truly extraordinary.

Weeks later, Gary excitedly announces to Milo that their little circus is officially profitable. Milo's eyes sparkle and he announces that they should all go into town to celebrate. And so, they march into the local ice cream parlor - Vlad, Frank, Gladys and Gloria, Charlotte, Gary and Milo. As they savor their scoops of ice cream, Zachariah and Rick barge into the shop. Zachariah immediately confronts Milo, accusing him of stealing his acts. Rick flexes his biceps, ready for a fight. Vlad steps forward, ordering Zachariah and Rick to leave them alone. Zachariah storms out of the ice cream parlor as Rick follows him out. Milo thanks Vlad for standing up for him. Vlad announces that nobody messes with their mouse.

Gary opens the circus' mail, discovering a mailed invitation to perform on live television in front of an audience including U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and his grandchildren - all avid circus fans. [9]

[9] I wrestled with placing the story in a specific time period. But LRF fans familiar with my work know I tend to lead towards fact-based/true story films. I guess placing this during the Eisenhower administration was something I couldn’t help myself with. Plus it seemed like the right era where circuses were at their height of popularity in America.

As the night begins, the performers for Milo's Marvelous Menagerie huddle backstage of the television performance. President of the United States Dwight Eisenhower (voiced by Will Patton) takes his seat surrounded by all his grandchildren. Charlotte excitedly tells Milo that she thinks she has finally found her talent. Milo is happy for her and asks her to show him. She twirls a flaming baton and breathes flames. Milo is happily stunned.

Beyond the spotlight, Zachariah seethes. Having caught wind of the televised performances, he and Rick sneak backstage and begin to loosen various bolts and cut various ropes.

As the curtain rises, Milo greets the audience and welcomes them all to the show - the greatest show on Earth! Gladys and Gloria open the show with their singing, weaving notes of love and longing. Vlad the clown comes out next, juggling rubber chickens to the audience's delight. Charlotte breathes fire in front of the audience and twirls a flaming baton. The grand finale is set to be Frank walking the tightrope.

Suddenly the tightrope appears sagged and frayed. Frank climbs the steps, unaware. Milo notices the issue and darts toward the rope. With only seconds to spare, he ties knots and secures the line. When Frank steps onto the tightrope, it is tight as can be. In the shadows, Zachariah fumes. His sabotage has failed. Furious, Zachariah emerges. He aims to crush Milo the mouse under his foot. Vlad intervenes with a massive roar. He swipes his paw at Zachariah, sending him flying into the crowd with one motion.

President Eisenhower leans forward in his seat, his grandchildren wide-eyed. Eisenhower orders that Zachariah is arrested. As police drag Zachariah out of the big top, President Eisenhower asks that the show continues. The Menagerie roars back to life. [10]

[10] One thing not entirely common with most of my films is a happy ending. That was a big change for me as a writer as a lot of my earlier films featured more ambiguous or even tragic or sad endings. I had to remind myself here and there with this project overall that families and younger audiences want/demand a certain amount of positive payoff by the end. Sometimes I’ve thought that maybe I leaned too hard into that with the ending here, but it is what it is.

After the show, Milo stands at the center of the big top, thanking the audience for choosing to spend their time and money on their show. [11]

[11] And that’s a wrap on The Big Top. Thanks to everyone who made it through this commentary for my first animated project. It won’t be the last either - but I will say that you all can expect more of my traditional fair going forward, but maybe with an animated family entry here and there.