This movie is about a brother and sister whose mother is an acrobat in the circus and the kids don't like traveling around a lot. The kids meet a dwarf in the forest with a friend named "Nimick" (or something like that) and they travel to this alternate universe by being sucked through a vortex in a lake while they are in a canoe. There is some kind of parade in this other world where people are dressed up in fairy-like costumes. I can't remember the plot of this story (obviously) but I remember these details. I hope someone recognizes this! This movie came out roughly 1991-1994. The only line from this move I distinctly remember is Nimick saying "No one knows what Nimick knows."

This can only be the much-feared The Great Land of Small (http://www.canuxploitation.com/review/greatland.html).