The whimsical Riquet's has kidnapped and married a well-born young girl, Ralda. They travel around Spain performing their act in a circus but Ralda's beauty arouses the director's lust. Furious at being rejected, he opens a lion's cage during Ralda's act, leaving her seriously injured. With Ralda's family on their trail, the young people set off to find a better life elsewhere.

In a daydream, a shy bank clerk is led by a fairy into a subterranean world where people transform into animals and waxworks come to life. Lucie, his office crush, follows him but a bad fairy is intent on keeping them apart.