From a poor child, working and fending for himself at a young age, to millionaire ring

leader of the “Greatest Show on Earth;” this is the story of the musical drama motion picture The

Greatest Showman, put briefly. A man by the name P.T. Barnum gathers together the “freaks” of

his town to put on a show like no one has ever seen before. When the newspaper degradingly

calls his spectacle a “circus,” Barnum turns the negative publicity into a positive by adopting the

distinctive title. Through ups, downs, love, family, and musical dance numbers, Barnum achieves

success, fame, and money. Upon his new-found prosperity, he starts showing “love” to wife and

kids through material things instead of his time and presence. When he gets the opportunity to

travel and manage a talented foreign singer to heighten his money and fame, he takes it. With his

attention divided, a fire almost costs him his circus, and poor decisions almost cost him his

family; Barnum is hit with a reality check as everything is slipping away, and he has to determine

how to hold his life together.

Twentieth Century Fox’s The Greatest Showman is the enticing, energetic, musically told

story based loosely on the real P.T. Barnum and the Barnum and Bailey Circus. With its catchy

songs, compelling storyline, and superior cast, the movie is a must-see. Although some critics

have an issue with the way Barnum is portrayed on screen in comparison to who the real-life

Barnum was, the movie is excellent entertainment and not intended to be a documentary.

The range of songs from the movie’s soundtrack, that are bound to get stuck in your head,

help the movie appeal to a wider audience. There’s a balance of more modern pop-like tunes and

slower, emotional melodies; the pop culture site the Ringer describes the music as “mix[ing]

EDM...with stadium-rock grunts, [and] chest-pounding ballads with peppy empowerment

anthems” (Harvilla). The impressive array allows many people to enjoy and connect with one

song or another; there’s bound to be something for almost everyone to enjoy. Which is why, after
only four weeks, The Greatest Showman soundtrack “hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, and

became the best-selling soundtrack of 2018” (Caulfield).

The Greatest Showman mixes the typical “man falls into hole, man gets out of hole” and

“boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl” storylines as its basis, but with twists and turns.

The movie is the exciting story of the come up from nothing, love, a circus, and success - only

for everything to fall apart. The story begins with Barnum as a young boy, seeing his crush

Charity: her in wealth, him a tailor’s son dragged by his father to work because he had no mother

in the picture - man starts in a “hole”. The plot follows the couple’s struggles to be together, then

the struggle to make money, and get the big house and life they’ve dreamed up - the first and

accelerated “boy meets girl, boy loses girl (through distance), boy gets girl” of the movie.

There’s also the side love story of Carlyle (Barnum’s partner) and Anne (trapeze performer) who

struggle to be together through racial differences, and therefore unfair judgements and

expectations - a side “boy meets girl…” story. The plot thickens when Barnum achieves his goal:

the mansion, the money, the fame - “man gets out of hole,” but craves more anyway. He risks his

money and the precious time of his girls’ childhood to tour as the manager for a Swedish singer

he just met - it does not pay off. The unforeseen turn here is the “Swedish Nightingale” is

smitten with Barnum, and uncooperative when her feelings are not reciprocated. Everything

going right leads to everything going wrong - his wife and kids move back in with her parents,

and unsupportive rioters burn the circus building to the ground, because Barnum’s attention was

elsewhere - the second “boy loses girl” and simultaneously “man falls into hole.” It is admittedly

predictable his wife will take him back after he apologizes and explains, but the audience will

most likely be wondering how he will save his circus, with his money blown and no banks left
that trust him. There’s a lot to love about this tale of failure, triumph, risk, and love sprinkled

with incredible song and dance; it keeps you wondering what will happen next.

Demonstrated through both their presentations in the movie and recognitions from past

performances, The Greatest Showman has a proven remarkable cast. Zendaya - who plays Anne

Wheeler, a trapeze artist in the circus - will likely attract Gen Z who watched her first roles on

Disney Channel; she won the Teen Choice Awards “Choice Movie Actress: Drama” for The

Greatest Showman. Zendaya’s fame does not stop there, her talent allowed her to rise to a more

sophisticated role in Euphoria, which she made history in as the youngest to win an Emmy for

“Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.” These feats prove the stunning actress she is, and

that she is an asset to the movie. Furthermore, the upper-class man Barnum convinces to be his

partner, through a musical number accompanied by shots of whiskey, Philip Carlyle, is played by

Zac Efron. Efron is an obvious fan favorite - particularly with the generation who grew up on

High School Musical. Efron’s experience ranges from cheery musicals to a serial killer

reenactment. Efron is a three-time winner of Bravo Otto’s “Best Male TV Star'' award; further

confirming his musical talent, he’s received multiple awards with Hairspray (a musical). The

main character, Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, is often called a Triple Threat, as he has a

reputation as an actor, singer, and dancer. While many know Jackman in his manly, aggressive

Wolverine role, he’s also no stranger to Broadway musicals; he won a Tony for his work in the

musical Oklahoma! He also won a Golden Globe for Les Miserables, and was nominated for

another for his performance in The Greatest Showman. Jackman’s skill is apparent throughout

the movie, which begins with Barnum’s silhouette dancing sharply. He has an impressive stage

(or screen) presence that commands absolute attention. Barnum is a sweet romantic to his love

interest: writing her letters while she is away, dancing with her on a picturesque rooftop. He is a
warm and loving father to his little girls (most of the time), but a serious businessman when he

needs to be (with his boss, the bank manager, and while convincing Carlyle to be his partner).

He’s also vulnerable and sensitive, especially when he admits his wrongs and apologizes to his

wife. Barnum’s character is complicated, but Jackman portrays every aspect magnificently.

The biggest complaint critics have with the movie is it romanticizes the real P.T. Barnum.

The true Barnum intended to exploit more than celebrate people’s differences, as the character

does in the movie. Real-life Barnum started off his business by using a blind, paralyzed, elderly

black woman and marketing her as the nanny of George Washington; she would tell audiences

stories of his childhood. His racist exploitation continued from there as he displayed other

African Americans as orangutan “creatures” or “Aztec children” (Flatley). Though this

disturbing side of Barnum is real, and obviously not present in the movie, the movie was not

advertised as the story of Barnum's life. It may use his name and be loosely inspired by his life in

multiple ways, but the movie was not meant to be a documentation nor historically accurate

reenactment of his life - and it never claimed to be.

While The Greatest Showman is phenomenal entertainment, there are subtle lessons

which apply to a greater societal context, as well. Barnum’s life demonstrates it is possible to

work your way up from little if you persist, whether that be insufficient money, knowledge, skill

or otherwise; Barnum works hard and constantly picks himself back up to finally achieve the

success he strived for. Once Barnum reaches his goal is when he starts craving even more,

leading to neglecting his family and circus; he admits in the song “From Now On” that he was

“always needing more,” but “from now on [his] eyes will not be blinded by the lights,” referring

to fame. He sees his family after being away and “remember[s] who all this was for;” he

remembers the goal was to work hard for his family’s sake, not for fame’s. Money, fame, or new
excitement in general, can cause you to lose sight of what is truly important if you are not

careful.

Overall, The Greatest Showman is not only a well constructed movie that a wide audience

can find entertainment in, but a meaningful one, too. Through the superb musicality and an

award-winning cast, the movie tells a captivating story with underlying lessons that apply to real

life situations. The Greatest Showman is effective as a musical and at holding interest, and

should be added to your Watchlist.

 Works Cited

Caulfield, Keith. “'The Greatest Showman' Soundtrack Hits No. 1 on Billboard 200

Albums Chart.” Billboard, 7 Jan. 2018,

www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8093010/the-greatest-showman-sou

ndtrack-hits-no-1-on-billboard-200-album-chart-hugh-jackman-zac-efron/.

Flatley, Louise. “The Darker Side of How P.T. Barnum Became ‘The Greatest Showman.’”

The Vintage News, 6 Jan. 2019,

www.thevintagenews.com/2019/01/06/greatest-showman/.

Harvilla, Rob. “America's New Favorite Soundtrack Is ... 'The Greatest Showman'?” The

Ringer, The Ringer, 5 Feb. 2018,

www.theringer.com/music/2018/2/5/16971368/greatest-showman-soundtrack-succe

ss.

“Hugh Jackman's New Film Celebrates PT Barnum – but Let's Not Airbrush History.” The

Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 18 Dec. 2017,

www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/18/hugh-jackman-new-film-celebrates-pt-bar

num-but-lets-not-airbrush-history-the-greatest-showman.

IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm3918035/awards.

Mansky, Jackie. “P.T. Barnum Isn't the Hero the ‘Greatest Showman’ Wants You to Think.”

Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 22 Dec. 2017,

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-pt-barnum-greatest-humbug-them-all-

180967634/.
McGuire, Kay . “Why Critics Hated The Greatest Showman (And Why They're Wrong).”

ScreenRant, 18 Aug. 2020,

screenrant.com/greatest-showman-bad-reviews-wrong-why/.