--- title: "Wonder" year: 2017 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/wonder" fi1m_id: "wonder" imdb_id: "tt2543472" tmdb_id: 406997 wikidata_id: "Q27958394" fi1m_score: 68 critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 18 published: "2026-10-03T00:17:45.828432+00:00" updated: "2026-10-03T00:17:56.534952+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Wonder (2017) Directed by Stephen Chbosky · 1h 53m · MPA PG · Family, Drama ## Identity Wonder - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/wonder - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** wonder - **IMDb ID:** tt2543472 - **TMDB ID:** 406997 - **Wikidata ID:** Q27958394 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543472/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/406997, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27958394 **Fi1m score: 68** · Critics 68 from 18 reviews *In a sentence:* Writes its moral on the blackboard in case you missed it, then goes and earns most of it anyway > Stephen Chbosky’s adaptation of R.J. Palacio’s novel is warmer, funnier and better acted than its reputation for tears suggests, and it is never for one moment in doubt about anything. Worth an evening with children; adults will see every turn coming. ## Synopsis Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) is ten, was born with a facial difference, has had twenty-seven operations, and has never been to school. His mother Isabel (Julia Roberts) has taught him at the kitchen table of the family’s New York brownstone; his father Nate (Owen Wilson) makes the jokes. This autumn they send him to Beecher Prep for fifth grade. The headmaster, Mr. Tushman (Mandy Patinkin), arranges a tour with two classmates, Jack Will (Noah Jupe) and Julian (Bryce Gheisar). In class, Mr. Browne (Daveed Diggs) writes a precept on the board about choosing kindness. At lunch, Summer (Millie Davis) puts her tray down opposite him. Upstairs, his sister Via (Izabela Vidovic) starts high school and finds her oldest friend Miranda (Danielle Rose Russell) has stopped speaking to her. Auggie wants to be ordinary. The corridor has other ideas. ## Review Stephen Chbosky, who made [*The Perks of Being a Wallflower*](https://film.one/film/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower) (2012), takes R.J. Palacio’s children’s novel and does roughly what the book asks. Auggie Pullman is ten, has had twenty-seven operations on a face that still makes strangers look twice, and is going to school for the first time. The film means to make us kinder, and it says so, on a blackboard, inside the first twenty minutes. It is a decent, warm, well-acted family picture that is better than its lessons and never once unsure where it is going. Jacob Tremblay plays Auggie under prosthetics that take a minute to read and then stop being the point, which is the whole trick, and he manages it. The performance lives in the eyes and in a quick, dry voice that gets the script’s best lines; Auggie is funnier than anyone around him and knows it. Julia Roberts gives Isabel, who put aside a thesis to teach him at home, a tiredness the script by Chbosky, Steven Conrad and Jack Thorne never spells out, and the morning she walks him to the school gate and lets go of his hand is played with almost nothing said. The film’s best idea is borrowed from the book. Every so often a name appears on screen and we go back through the same weeks with someone else. Via (Izabela Vidovic), the older sister, describes Auggie as the sun and the rest of the family as planets, and starts high school to find her friend Miranda (Danielle Rose Russell) will not look at her. Jack Will (Noah Jupe) turns out to have reasons of his own. Vidovic is the discovery, playing a girl who has learnt never to ask for anything and is starting to resent it, and these chapters let the supporting cast be people rather than examples. Don Burgess shoots the Pullmans’ brownstone and the school in warm autumn browns and golds, and keeps the camera at Auggie’s height in the corridors, so what we see is what he sees: chests, rucksacks, a lot of turned heads. Kalina Ivanov fills his bedroom with NASA and [*Star Wars*](https://film.one/film/star-wars), and when he is frightened Chewbacca appears in the school hall, a joke the film is confident enough to play straight. We cried, and we had not planned to. It was the lunch scene: Auggie alone at a table in a full room, and Summer (Millie Davis) putting her tray down opposite him and talking about nothing in particular, as if the question of whether to sit there had never come up. Nobody makes a speech. The piano, as usual, got there first, and we were a little annoyed by that even as our eyes went. What the film will not do is let anything stay difficult. Julian (Bryce Gheisar), the class bully, is cruel the way children are cruel in school plays; he says the obvious thing and nobody says the unspeakable one. Mr. Browne (Daveed Diggs) writes a precept on the board each month and the film treats each one as an instruction to itself. Mandy Patinkin’s Mr. Tushman makes a joke about his name and is wise, and that is the character. Every adult means well, every child who does not learns to, and by the last act we had stopped wondering what would happen and were waiting to be told how to feel about it. That is the complaint most critics have made, and we share it, though we think the film survives it. *Perks* knew that teenagers lie to themselves and let them get on with it. *Wonder* is for a younger audience and does not trust them with much. But it is careful with its small cast, funnier than its trailer lets on, and honest about one thing in particular: how tiring it is to be the family’s good news. Take children of eight to twelve, who will not mind seeing the turns coming, and sit at the back if you would rather not be seen crying at a school lunch. It carries a PG and nothing in it will frighten anyone except the first look at Auggie’s face, which is the point. *Fi1m score 68, published 3 October 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics come away warm towards Wonder, and the praise gathers almost entirely around Jacob Tremblay. Review after review notes how expressive he manages to be beneath the prosthetics, earning laughs and tears without forcing either. Beyond him, the reviews credit director Chbosky with an understanding of how children behave, a generous spread of attention to the supporting characters, and a plea for kindness that most find persuasive rather than preachy. Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Izabela Vidovic draw steady if quieter notice. The reservations are nearly all the same one: sentimentality. Even the admirers concede the lessons can be obvious and the emotional cues heavy-handed, and the mixed reviews find the message sweet to the point of repetition. The spread is wide at the bottom. The Guardian calls it manipulative and singles out Owen Wilson as a weak link, while Eye for Film finds it predictable but still rates Roberts. ## Straight answers **Is Wonder worth watching?** *Wonder* is worth watching with children of eight to twelve, and we scored it 68. Jacob Tremblay and Julia Roberts are better than the film's reputation for tears suggests, and the shifting chapters that follow Auggie's sister and classmates give the supporting cast room to be people. Adults will see every turn coming and will be told how to feel about each one. **How long is Wonder, and what is it rated?** *Wonder* runs 1h 53m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is a family and drama film. **Where can I watch Wonder in the US?** *Wonder* is streaming on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and The Roku Channel in the US, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does Wonder compare to The Perks of Being a Wallflower?** *Wonder* is the gentler and more obvious of Stephen Chbosky's two school films, made for a younger audience than [*The Perks of Being a Wallflower*](https://film.one/film/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower). The earlier film lets its teenagers lie to themselves and keeps its lessons off the blackboard; *Wonder* writes its moral up inside twenty minutes. Perks is the better film for older siblings; Wonder is the one to watch with children. **Is Wonder based on a true story or a book?** *Wonder* is based on R.J. Palacio's children's novel, not on a true story. Chbosky's film does roughly what the book asks, including its best idea, in which the story restarts from the point of view of Auggie's sister and classmates. You do not need to have read the book; the film spells out everything it wants you to know. **What should I watch after Wonder?** After *Wonder*, try [*The Perks of Being a Wallflower*](https://film.one/film/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower) (2012, Fi1m 76): Chbosky’s earlier film, for the older sibling, where the lessons stay off the blackboard. Then [*Hunt for the Wilderpeople*](https://film.one/film/hunt-for-the-wilderpeople) (2016, Fi1m 82): A boy nobody wanted, a grumpy foster uncle and the New Zealand bush; much funnier; and [*Paddington 2*](https://film.one/film/paddington-2) (2017, Fi1m 91): The same plea for kindness, made by a bear, and somehow less sentimental for it. ### Reviews we read (18) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Sheri Linden (85/100, inferred): Linden finds the film winningly unpretentious and warmly optimistic, with occasional overly obvious lessons. She especially praises Jacob Tremblay’s expressive, full-blooded performance as Auggie. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/wonder-1054898/) - **Radio Times**, Trevor Johnston (4/5): The critic finds the drama thoughtful and moving without becoming self-pitying. Jacob Tremblay’s performance is singled out for praise, with Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson also noted as strong support. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-kbg1ie/wonder/) - **The i Paper**, Matthew Turner (★★★★): Turner finds the film powerfully moving and warmly persuasive in its plea for empathy and kindness. He particularly praises Jacob Tremblay’s expressive performance and the generosity shown to the supporting characters. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/wonder-review-choose-kind-107648) - **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (4/5): Rothkopf presents it as a graceful, ethically engaged drama. He highlights the soul-searching around appearance and how behavior shapes beauty. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/wonder) - **Empire**, Liz Moody (78/100, inferred): The review finds Wonder warm and persuasive despite occasional sentimentality and heavy-handed messaging. It particularly praises Jacob Tremblay’s expressive performance beneath the prosthetics. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/wonder-2-review/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Christy Lemire (3/4): Lemire finds the film emotionally effective despite its unabashedly sentimental approach. She particularly praises Jacob Tremblay’s performance as Auggie. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wonder-2017) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (75/100, inferred): Gleiberman finds the film a tasteful, emotionally effective feel-good drama, though its tidy benevolence limits its artistic edge. He praises Chbosky’s nuanced understanding of children and the film’s empathetic treatment of bullying. [Read](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/wonder-julia-roberts-owen-wilson-1202612863/) - **Vulture**, David Edelstein (70/100, inferred): Edelstein finds Wonder emotionally affecting and humane, though its sentimental cues can be heavy-handed. He especially praises Jacob Tremblay’s understated performance and the complex details that deepen the film’s message of empathy. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2017/11/wonder-review.html) - **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (64/100, inferred): The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It provides no accessible praise or complaint beyond identifying the film’s premise. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/wonder-review/5124118.article) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (64/100, inferred): The URL identifies this as a review of the 2017 film, but the page response does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also provides no verifiable detail about what the critic praised or criticized. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/movies/wonder-review-jacob-tremblay-julia-roberts-owen-wilson.html) - **Little White Lies**, Emily Bray (2/3/3): Bray finds the film enjoyable and sensitive, though its message becomes overly sweet and repetitive. She praises the children’s performances, which bring both levity and weight to the subject matter. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/wonder) - **Slant Magazine**, Keith Watson (2/4): Watson finds the film warm-hearted but overly sentimental and simplistic in its worldview. He praises the understated handling of the family dog’s death and the reconciliation through Minecraft. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/wonder/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (15/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the drama manipulative and overly sentimental, with little complexity. He particularly criticizes Owen Wilson’s performance and the film’s simplistic treatment of its characters. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/nov/12/wonder-review-owen-wilson-julia-roberts) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (90/100, inferred): Hammond regards the film as a rare, heartwarming family movie with a strong message about kindness. He particularly praises Jacob Tremblay’s assured performance, which earns laughs and tears without forcing either. [Read](https://deadline.com/2017/11/wonder-review-julia-roberts-jacon-tremblay-1202209380/) - **Den of Geek**, Simon Brew (4/5): Brew finds the adaptation warm, humane, and emotionally resonant, with only minor shortcomings. He particularly praises the performances of Jacob Tremblay and Izabela Vidovic, and the film’s focus on Auggie and Via. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/wonder-review/) - **HeyUGuys** (80/100, inferred): The review calls the film uplifting and a must-see family film. It praises the performances and the warm visuals that support the story. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/wonder-review/) - **The Wrap** (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a moving, unusually restrained tear-jerker that earns its emotional response. Jacob Tremblay’s performance and the ensemble’s well-developed characters are singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/wonder-film-review-julia-roberts-jacob-tremblay/) - **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film emotionally manipulative and predictable, though it may appeal to viewers drawn to sentimental stories. He praises Julia Roberts’s performance and calls Isabela Vidovic memorable. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/wonder-2017-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Details - **Director:** Stephen Chbosky - **Director:** Stephen Chbosky - **Screenplay:** Steven Conrad, Stephen Chbosky, Jack Thorne - **Novel:** R.J. Palacio - **Cinematography:** Don Burgess - **Editor:** Mark Livolsi - **Music:** Marcelo Zarvos - **Production design:** Kalina Ivanov - **Costume design:** Monique Prudhomme - **Producer:** David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman - **Cast:** Jacob Tremblay as Auggie; Julia Roberts as Isabel; Owen Wilson as Nate; Izabela Vidovic as Via; Noah Jupe as Jack Will; Millie Davis as Summer; Bryce Gheisar as Julian; Mandy Patinkin as Mr. Tushman - **Runtime:** 1h 53m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG - **Release (the US):** 17 November 2017 - **Genres:** Family, Drama - **Budget:** $20 million - **Box office:** $315 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASAGdtAJPnU ## Where to watch in the US - Apple TV: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: buy $4.99, sd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $4.99, sd *Checked 2026-10-03.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, IE, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, US, VN. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2018: Best Makeup and Hairstyling (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Mask* (1985): Bogdanovich’s version of the same story, rougher, sadder and with Cher refusing to be brave. - *The Perks of Being a Wallflower* (2012), Fi1m 76: Chbosky’s earlier film, for the older sibling, where the lessons stay off the blackboard. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower.md) - *Hunt for the Wilderpeople* (2016), Fi1m 82: A boy nobody wanted, a grumpy foster uncle and the New Zealand bush; much funnier. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/hunt-for-the-wilderpeople.md) - *The Kid with a Bike* (2011): The Dardennes on a child who will not be helped, with no piano to tell you anything. - *Paddington 2* (2017), Fi1m 91: The same plea for kindness, made by a bear, and somehow less sentimental for it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/paddington-2.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/wonder