I'm sorry, that is simply not true. I see so many people criticizing the film for historical inaccuracy and it really makes me think they: 1) have never read biographies on PT Barnum, and 2) have no idea what family musicals are supposed to be like. There were several things in The Greatest Showman that were historically accurate and some things that were not. Omitting most of the bad things a man did when he was young does not make a film historically inaccurate. It just means the film did not want to focus on or mention those things for good reason, since mentioning those things would have caused the film to lose its PG rating and taken away from the joyous feel a family musical is supposed to give the audience. Why bring up Joice Heth in a PG rated family movie? Not to mention, a lot of articles I am seeing published online by media outlets are giving false information about Barnum. Even some of the details they are giving about what happened with Joice Heth are not in line with biographies. I think the media has an agenda to vilify PT Barnum. He certainly did some bad things, but he was not the horrible human being the current media is making him out to be.
Obviously the time frame of things that happened in the musical were not in line with the actual history (Barnum didn't start the circus until much later in life, for example), but there are many things in the movie that are true, and overall, the story in the movie is true to PT Barnum's essence ... and also is the way the real PT Barnum and his family would want his story to be told (and his ancestors are very happy with the movie).
Here are some things from The Greatest Showman that were historically accurate (and I also distinguish between the things in the movie that were not accurate):
1. PT Barnum was indeed the son of a tailor and did grow up indigent. He and his father were certainly disrespected for being "lower class" and his father did die when he was a young teenager. The real Barnum was not orphaned, but rather, was left to be the sole provider for his family. However, it was unnecessary to show that in this movie. PT also really did sell newspapers to make money as a youngster, as depicted in the movie (although he also worked a bunch of other odd jobs).
2. While, in reality, Charity did not come from an upper class background as depicted in the movie, there was nothing wrong with the movie's writers taking this liberty because they were trying to emphasize PT's insecurities due to always feeling inferior and like society would not accept him. The real PT Barnum DID feel that way, and it is easiest to depict this in a 1 hour 45 minute musical if making Charity Hallet upper class and putting tension between PT and her parents.
3. PT Barnum really did con banks into loaning him money.
4. PT Barnum and the people in his show really did get to go to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen of England.
5. PT Barnum really was from Connecticut and really did move to New York, as depicted in the movie.
6. PT Barnum really did go on tour with Jenny Lind, really did make her the most famous singer in America, and it really did bring incredible profits to his show. Jenny Lind really was regarded as being the best singer in the world, she really did come from a less than glamorous background and she really did do charity work as depicted in the movie. The real Jenny Lind was not romantically interested in PT Barnum but The Greatest Showman is far from the first show or musical to depict Lind and PT Barnum as having romantic interest in each other. It makes the movie more interesting.
7. PT Barnum really did go bankrupt (several times, actually), although it was not due to Jenny Lind causing a scandal and dropping out of the tour.
8. PT Barnum's museum really did burn down (several times). One of the times was believed to be caused by protesters who were angry at his anti-slavery, abolitionist stance in politics. The reasons for the other two times are, according to many biographies, unknown - so I see no problem with writers taking entertaining liberties in having one of the times the museum burned down being the result of people protesting the "freaks."
9. When PT Barnum went on tour with Jenny Lind, he really did leave Charity all alone. Even though he and Lind in reality were strictly business partners, he still at times paid way more attention to his show and his need to prove himself and obtain fame than his wife. He did love her though and would always come back to her.
10. PT Barnum really did have the attitude depicted in the movie of, "You insult me? I'm going to use your insult to my advantage" ... he really did think there was no such thing as bad publicity, as depicted in the movie... and the most important thing to him, as depicted in the movie, really was putting smiles on people's faces (he valued getting rich about equally, lol). There are several real quotes from PT Barnum where he addresses that.
11. Although in reality Tom Thumb and Bearded Lady joined PT's show when they were little kids, it was unnecessary to show that in the musical. When you actually read in depth biographies about Barnum, you begin to realize that most of the people who performed in his show DID NOT feel exploited. In fact, they adored PT Barnum. Tom Thumb LOVED PT Barnum, and at one point because of Barnum had even become one of the wealthiest and most famous people in the world. The real Bearded Lady also loved PT Barnum, and it is historically documented that she did indeed use her place in Barnum's show as a platform to speak out against the public calling them "freaks." That makes the song "This is Me" very true to the real story. These people really were hidden away with their families ashamed of them, and they did in reality feel like part of a family while traveling with PT Barnum. Plus, they were paid. The line from the movie, "People are laughing anyway. You might as well get paid" was very true to the essence of the real story.
12. The critic in the movie, James Gordon Bennett, was the name of the real critic who was a thorn in PT Barnum's side for many years, always criticizing his show. The review that was used in the movie was an actual review of the real PT Barnum's show, and the way Barnum decided to call his show "circus" is true to the essence of what really happened.
13. Although in real life Charity and PT married when they were around 19-years-old, I felt it was unnecessary to show them marrying at this age in the musical. In the musical, Barnum is late 30s when he asks her to marry him (when you do the math based on the movie's dialogue). I see nothing wrong with that because the roof top dancing scene was so beautiful ... the dancing by Hugh Jackman was phenomenal. Since Jackman is almost 50, they had to make the character much older than 19. There is no way Jackman can EVER pass for 19, and who the hell would want to see an unknown 19-year-old actor proposing to Charity through dance? I sure as hell wouldn't and based on audience reviews I've seen, not many people would. One of my favorite scenes in the movie was Jackman's dance move onto one knee as he holds out the ring to propose.
The musical was true to their essence by showing a loving relationship between PT and Charity, and the real PT and Charity did indeed have a very long and loving relationship. They had 4 daughters (one of them died) and there was no need to show 4 daughters because in reality, they had 4 daughters over a long time span, whereas once PT's and Charity's 2 daughters are revealed in the movie, the rest of the film's plot only spans a couple of years max so it is easily plausible that Charity simply hadn't yet given birth to their last two daughters.
