El tranquilo y pequeño pueblo de Maine está siendo aterrorizado por una fuerza malévola oculta tras la máscara de un payaso, y que tan sólo se la conoce como “Eso”. Tras sus primeras víctimas, una pandilla formada por siete amigos de la infancia deciden volver a reunirse para atacar el mal y destruirlo, intentando librar así del terror a su pueblo natal.
Chip Baskets wants to follow his dream of being a French clown—however, reality keeps interfering. Saddled with financial difficulties and facing an impenetrable language barrier, he moves back home to Bakersfield with high hopes. There, he is forced to confront his past while working as a rodeo clown and competing with his siblings for his mother's approval and affection.
Bumba is a mischievous, but always cheerful clown in a circus full of sound and color full of staging tricks. He gets help from his best friends Bumbalu, the Kiwi bird, the bear Nanadu, the elephant Tumbi and many other brightly colored figures cheerfully join him.