History YMMV / TheGreatestShowman

* SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct:
** Zendaya is not only showcased for her singing and trapeze stuntwork, she also manages to portray a lot of subtle emotion -- often just through facial expressions alone.
** A different example with Michelle Williams, whose acting talents were not in doubt. But rather she shocked everyone with her singing, prompting a few people wondering if it was really her.

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* WTHCastingAgency:
** Even some people who like or even love the movie admit that it's silly that the movie casts Creator/HughJackman and Creator/MichelleWilliams as [[DawsonCasting childhood]] [[MayDecemberRomance lovers]].
** 4 foot tall Sam Humphrey as the 3 foot tall Tom Thumb. To make him 3 foot tall, he had to perform on his knees the entire time he was filming, meaning he couldn't dance so the character either conveniently leaves or disappears altogether whenever everyone else starts dancing for most of his screentime (From Now On excluded, though even that song had a couple shots where it looked like they were trying to hide his "dancing"). It makes one wonder why they bothered casting him and didn't just cast someone closer to 3 foot tall like Creator/VerneTroyer or even Creator/WarwickDavis instead, though even they were slightly taller than 2'6" Charles Stratten. The difference was that Sam Humphrey looked like Stratten, and most importantly, '''[[https://lrmonline.com/news/sam-humphrey-interview/ he could sing]]'''.
--->'''Humphrey:''' Here's another fun fact as well–I actually had to play the character for the entire film on my knees. I had to learn on how to walk on my knees and for long periods of time. It was quite exhausting and mentally draining—along with being physically draining.
** After Broadway actor Creator/JeremyJordan said that he originally did the demos for PT and performed as Phillip in the greenlighting performance, many of his fans (and Broadway fans in general) believed he should've gotten the part over Zac Efron.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The songs were written by the guys who did ''Film/LaLaLand'' and ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'', with "This Is Me" winning Best Song at the Golden Globes. Other standouts from the soundtrack include "Never Enough", "A Million Dreams", "The Greatest Show" and "Rewrite the Stars".

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The songs were written by the guys who did ''Film/LaLaLand'' and ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'', with "This Is Me" winning Best Song at the Golden Globes. Other standouts from the soundtrack include "Never Enough", "A Million Dreams", and "Rewrite the Stars".

* {{Glurge}}: A major factor in the film's HypeBacklash is that not only is it an OscarBait pop musical, but shamelessly turn P.T. Barnum into a LovableRogue who follows his dreams, celebrates diversity, and makes money by organizing a circus that toplines society's disabled and/or odd-looking outcasts as opposed to the shrewd businessman who exploited otherness for profit. The antagonists range from a StrawCritic to dyed-in-the-wool bigots, but the lesson Barnum ends up learning is not to aim for "respectability" when he tries to break into upper-crust society and forgets about the needs of his troupe and family. Those who don't like the movie see it as phony and manipulative, particularly with its platitudes about acceptance and pride as they are undercut by the film not letting the audience get to know the circus performers as individuals and instead focusing the bulk of the narrative on the WhiteMaleLead and his redemption, with its choice of villains shaming the viewer into not questioning/analyzing what they're watching lest they be seen as enemies of joy and diversity.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/NatashaLiuBordizzo had a small role in the film as Deng Yan, an acrobat and swordsman. She would later star in Series/TheSociety, Film/DayShift, and would later be cast as Sabine Wren in Series/Ahsoka.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/NatashaLiuBordizzo had a small role in the film as Deng Yan, an acrobat and swordsman. She would later star in Series/TheSociety, Film/DayShift, and would later be cast as Sabine Wren in Series/Ahsoka.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The songs were written by the guys who did ''Film/LaLaLand'' and ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'', with "This Is Me" winning Best Song at the Golden Globes.

* UnfortunateImplications: The movie tries to frame itself as a movie about how people shouldn't [[BeYourself judge others for how they look]]. But, because the circus troupe is in a business that is well known for exploiting people for their looks in real life, and because the movie didn't really show what their talents ''were'', besides the Wheelers and the Bearded Lady, one could argue the movie says it's okay to only define people by their looks as long as they aren't "mean" about it and doing stuff like protesting their very existence or shutting them out of high class parties. But doing stuff like, say, paying to gawk at them is a-okay[[note]]What makes it weirder is that the [[https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/uploads/scripts/the-greatest-showman-2017.pdf original shooting script]] had a throwaway line where the protestors call the circus a "freak show" as an insult, implying that this circus is supposed to be more progressive than your usual "freak show" yet they decided to cut that out[[/note]]. P.T. Barnum being the protagonist of the movie, even if he isn't always shown in the right, doesn't exactly help. It also doesn't help that [[WordOfGod the filmmakers themselves]] have said that the movie is framed as the type of hagiography P.T. Barnum would make to "make his life look more fantastical than it really was". See that opinion [[https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-greatest-showman-fails-disabled-audiences-by-masking-pt-barnums-monstrous-past here]].

** The plot in general has a check list of cliches. [[UptownGirl Poor boy that grows up befriending and falling in love with a rich girl]]? Check. [[ParentalMarriageVeto Rich girl's parents don't like them being together]]? Check. They eventually end up together against the parents' wishes? Check. [[SocialClimber Man tries to impress high society]] and, in the process, leaves his family and friends behind? Check. Social outcasts [[FamilyOfChoice form a family together]], bonding over their the fact that they've never been accepted by anyone before? Check. And the list goes on and on.
* CriticalDissonance: Critics have overall been very mixed about the film, with a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 48 Metacritic score, mostly for straying really far from the actual history. The general audience, on the other hand, overall has a very positive view of the film; with an 7.5 score on IMDB, an "A" rating on Cinemascore, and a 86% Audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also became a surprise hit, grossing over $400 million worldwide.

* OlderThanTheyThink

** This also isn't the first musical biography of P.T. Barnum. That would be the 1980's ''Barnum'' with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman, starring Creator/GlennClose and Jim Dale in the title role. And while it still portrays its title character as a LovableRogue, it also doesn't skimp on the fact that he was, first and foremost, a shameless con artist who was OnlyInItForTheMoney. The biggest hit from the show was "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc-9KiBRYps Join the Circus]]".

* OneSceneWonder: The bartender with the large 1880's baseball mustache (played by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_(dancer) Daniel Campos]], who was the assistant choreographer) while Barnum tries to convince Carlyle to join the circus as they sing "The Other Side" doesn't say a single word -- and still manages to nearly steal the scene. Critics have singled him out as a highlight of choreography, even in negative reviews of the film.

** Many critics disdained the VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory plot, arguing that a far more interesting film could be made from the ''real'' P.T. Barnum story -- and pointing out that this trope was ''intentionally'' invoked because that story wouldn't make for a feel-good family musical. Director Michael Gracey says in his commentary on the DVD that they invoked this because Barnum rewrote his autobiography twice, and burned the original prints, to make his life seem more fantastic than he was, so they felt that the movie they made would be one that Barnum himself would make, i.e. casting a man with a heroic build like Hugh to play himself, writing his late wife into the movie to show his fidelity, having a lesson about how family is more important than fame, etc.

--->'''Humphrey:''' Here’s another fun fact as well–I actually had to play the character for the entire film on my knees. I had to learn on how to walk on my knees and for long periods of time. It was quite exhausting and mentally draining—along with being physically draining.

* {{Glurge}}: A major factor in the film's HypeBacklash is that not only is it an OscarBait pop musical, but shamelessly turn P.T. Barnum into a LovableRogue who follows his dreams, celebrates diversity, and makes money by organizing a circus that toplines society's diasbled and/or odd-looking outcasts as opposed to the shrewd businessman who exploited otherness for profit. The antagonists range from a StrawCritic to dyed-in-the-wool bigots, but the lesson Barnum ends up learning is not to aim for "respectability" when he tries to break into upper-crust society and forgets about the needs of his troupe and family. Those who don't like the movie see it as phony and manipulative, particularly with its platitudes about acceptance and pride as they are undercut by the film not letting the audience get to know the circus performers as individuals and instead focusing the bulk of the narrative on the WhiteMaleLead and his redemption, with its choice of villains shaming the viewer into not questioning/analyzing what they're watching lest they be seen as enemies of joy and diversity.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The film was moderately successful in its native United States, but in the United Kingdom (and Ireland, to a lesser extent), it's become THE definition of a musical done right, and no words can even begin to describe ''[[UpToEleven how much of an impact]]'' the film has left on its public.

* SignatureSong: "This is Me", to the point that it got a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song and ''numerous'' fan covers along with comments on Website/YouTube explaining how much this song means to them. "The Greatest Show", "A Million Dreams", and "Never Enough" are also strong contenders.

* SignatureSong: "This is Me", to the point that it got a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song and ''numerous'' fan covers along with comments on Website/YouTube explaining how much this song means to them. "The Greatest Show" and "Never Enough" are also strong contenders.

*** The limitations of the effects they used for Charles show throughout the movie, even outside of dancing. He mostly just stands or walks throughout his entire screentime and it seems like the filmmakers try to avoid having him do any physical activity as much as possible. During the fire scene, he's briefly shown being carried out of the circus rather than just running out, ''Come Alive'' shows him being picked up and put on the horse by Barnum, instead of jumping onto the horse while standing on, say, a box, to most likely make something easier for the animators to animate (as they would just have to animate his legs), and he doesn't take part in the fight scene with the circus troupe and the protestors, so they wouldn't have to have him fight on his legs.

* UncannyValley: To some, Tom Thumb/Charles Stratton can fall into this, considering that it's REALLY obvious the actor playing him is obviously walking on his knees and having his legs being replaced with CGI legs to make him look shorter. What also doesn't help is that the actor has a baby face yet he's been dubbed over with an [[VocalDissonance actor with a much deeper voice]], which comes off as more creepy than funny, even though the latter is probably what they were going for. It doesn't help that the [[SpecialEffectFailure dubbing is rather obvious]], making it almost comparable to something out of an old Godzilla movie.

* SignatureSong: "This is Me", to the point that it got a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song and ''numerous'' fan covers along with comments on Website/YouTube explaining how much this song means to them. "The Greatest Show" is a close second.

* SignatureSong: "This is Me", to the point that it got a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song and ''numerous'' fan covers along with comments on Website/YouTube explaining how much this song means to them.