Angered at stern Uncle Daniel, Toby Tyler runs away from his foster home to join the circus, where he soon befriends Mr. Stubbs, the frisky chimpanzee. However, the circus isn't all fun and games when the evil candy vendor, Harry Tupper, convinces Toby that his Aunt Olive and Uncle Daniel don't love him or want him back. Toby resigns himself to circus life, but when he finally realizes that Tupper lied to him, and that his aunt and uncle truly love him, Toby happily returns home once again.
The main chimpanzee is shot at the end, and it's pretty clear that the chimp dies with all the emotional fallout that entails. However, they later pull the usual manipulative he-recovered-from-it gag to undo the tragic ending. It's about as tragic as possible (i.e. no one would expect a small chimp to survive a gunshot) for something that doesn't technically qualify as an animal dies. Note that the original book Toby Tyler ends with the chimp dying (and includes physical abuse from the adults).