As long time Cirque du Soleil fans, my daughters and I have been anxiously waiting for the new Cirque movie, Worlds Away, to come to theaters. Today was the day and we opted to see it in 3D.

When we bought our tickets we were given our cool Cirque du Soleil 3D glasses complete with the “O” inspired overlays we could add to them.

Ready for the movie to begin!!

The basic premise of the movie is a young woman goes to a small town circus and becomes entranced by an Aerialist. She is encouraged by a silent clown to go watch the circus. The seemingly amateur show begins and the aerial act starring the object of the young woman’s fascination begins. As their eyes meet, he misses a catch and falls to the gound. As she runs to his side they fall down through the ground into a dreamlike world and become separated. As they try to find each other they travel through various tents of Cirque du Soleil where highlights from the main Cirque shows in Las Vegas are featured. The Cirque sampling is woven together through various Cirque clowns, characters and adventures.

You can watch the trailer here (or on YouTube):

 Now for my thoughts on the movie. 

Let’s start with what I LOVED:

• A $12 movie ticket is a lot less than the price of a ticket to a live Cirque show ($75+)
• Since the movie is basically a compilation of the various Vegas based Cirque shows, it is a quick way to decide which shows you might want to go see live (for example, I would love to see the Elvis and Beatles Cirque shows now and will most likely pass on KA)
• The camera work was outstanding! It was neat to see some of the acts and maneuvers done in slow motion – and from angles you would not see in the live performances.
• As always, the costumes, make up and sets for the performances were just phenomenal.
• The gymnastics aspect of the performance was technically flawless and gave me goosebumps on more than one occasion.

My favorite acts:

• The Chinese Contortionists
• The Trampoline act during the Elvis show segment
• The Flying Ship
• The Suspended Rope Ladders act

And now my not so favorite things about it:

• Unless you have a child who is Cirque crazy (like my girls) or who really gets into the gymnastics part of Cirque, I don’t recommend it for kids.
• The movie felt very long and dragged in places.
• The story line was definitely an afterthought and just a way to tie the various spotlights on the acts together.
• Parts of the movie were very dark and felt almost disjointed.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie as it was a relatively inexpensive way to get my Cirque du Soleil “fix” for the time being. I do not think that the average movie goer will “get it” or even like it, but those of us who can’t get enough of watching press handstands, breath taking releases, over arching backs and weight transfers will think it is worth it. If you do go see Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away, see it in 3D ! The 3D technology used today is just amazing and does not hurt your eyes – plus you get the cool 3-D glasses to keep. 

If you have seen the movie, I’d love to hear what you thought of it. While I’d rather watch a cohesive story like Alegria or Mystere on the big screen, Worlds Away is not a bad substitute.