One of the greatest musicals ever

Rating: 10/10 (12 April 2018)

From humble beginnings P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackson) will come to be known as The Greatest Showman who brought "a celebration of humanity" to us all. This was said by his staunchest critic James Gordon Bennett (Paul Sparks) a newspaper reporter and he finally admitted that P.T. Barnum gave people the time to smile and enjoy the entertainment.
Keep in mind that this is not a story about the Ringling Bros and Barnum Bailey Circus. No, this is the time before all that. This is how P.T. Barnum got started with his museums and later with live human acts and animals that one of his daughters said was needed. She was right.
P.T. Barnum went looking for people that other people considered "freaks." There was Dog Boy (Luciano Acuna, Jr), the Dwarf: Tom Thumb ( Stan Humphrey), the Bearded Lady (Keala Settle), the World's Fattest Man (Daniel Everidge), and so on. All became a fine circus family and proud of what they did.
The entire cast outperformed expectations. Kudos.
The lively, toe-tapping music, the singing and precision choreography was, perhaps, the best I have ever seen in a musical and I 've seen many. And yes each song, dance and the accompanying music stayed strong, vibrant and catchy all the time. Nothing dragged including player dialogues as the pacing was spot on throughout.
I count this movie in a class by itself, and maintain that this is the greatest musical ever. Watch and judge for yourselves.
I was surprised that the whole Barnum team did go and meet Queen Victoria, and Barnum came away with the famous Opera Singer Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) and did a tour with her. She was touted as an Opera Singer, but she never sang operatic songs in the movie.
Notables: Zac Efron as Phillip Carlyle, a playwright who became part owner in the circus; Michelle Williams as Charity, P.T. Barnum's wife; Ellis Rubin as Young Barnum; Skylar Dunn as Young Charity; Anne Wheeler as Trapeze Artist Zandaya who Phillip Carlyle falls for;

All in all one of the most enjoyable musicals I have ever seen. As the reporter Bennet begrudgingly considered that P.T. Barnum brought "a celebration of humanity" to us all, he was also the one who is credited in telling P.T. Barnum to change the name of his show to P.T. Barnum's Circus.

Maybe there will be another movie later on called The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Let's hope. (10/10)

Violence: Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: Yes,
Language: No.
Rating: A