6 Best County Fair and State Fair Movies

By Vlad Zakh · March 26, 2026

The county fair, with its rides, contests and prize livestock, is a nostalgic slice of small-town America. Charlotte’s Web has a clever spider saving a pig by spinning words into her web, State Fair appears in 1945 and 1962, and We Bought a Zoo has a grieving father restoring a struggling zoo. Cars and Sounder are looser fits, a race car learning humility in a small town and a sharecropping family’s fight to survive, but they share that rural, small-town heart.

We Bought a Zoo (2011)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A grieving father moves his family to the countryside to restore and reopen a struggling zoo.

Directed by Cameron Crowe · 2h 04m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus, FXNow · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Cars (2006)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A hotshot rookie race car learns humility and friendship after getting stranded in a small town.

Directed by John Lasseter · 1h 57m · Rated G

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Sounder (1972)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A Black sharecropping family struggles to survive after the father is imprisoned for stealing food.

Directed by Martin Ritt · 1h 45m · Rated G

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Brew, Fandor, UP Faith & Family Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Charlotte's Web (1973)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A clever spider works to save a beloved pig from slaughter by spinning miraculous words into her web.

Directed by Iwao Takamoto & Charles August Nichols · 1h 34m · Rated G

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

State Fair (1962)

TMDB ★ 5.9

A farm family's trip to the state fair brings unexpected romance and adventure to each of its members.

Directed by José Ferrer · 2h 00m

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

State Fair (1945)

IMDb ★ 7.0 RT 83%

A farm family's trip to the state fair turns into romance for both grown children.

Directed by Walter Lang · 1h 40m · Rated NR

Won 1 Oscar4 wins & 4 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best County Fair and State Fair Movies

We Bought a Zoo (2011)

Cars (2006)

Sounder (1972)

Charlotte's Web (1973)

State Fair (1962)

State Fair (1945)

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