The thrust of this film, though, is not the traditional circus circuit but rather the Oddities, characters on the outskirts who show their humanity: the Bearded Lady (Keala Settle) and Tom Thumb (Sam Humphrey) in addition to the likes of the Strong Man, Dog Boy and a glorious
trapeze artist named Anne Wheeler (Zendaya), who is a love interest for Barnum's partner Phillip, played nicely by Zac Efron in his best screen outing in a long while.