Wonder: The Novel & The Film

PRE WARNING: THIS CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS. I mean I was careful not to include any real spoilers but I really am not sure what even constitutes a spoiler these days? Is my opinion a spoiler? Who even knows anymore? Anyway read on at your own risk.

Oh what a gut wrenching journey.

I remember 5th grade and oh was it rough. The schoolyard politics and the constant need to be liked was difficult for someone as weird as me. My favourite movie of all time, still is today, was Beauty and the Beast. My favourite part was the opening scene of Belle walking through the town while everyone sang about what a funny girl she was. For someone as weird as me I clutched onto the hope that one day I would have a happily ever after just like Belle and that the world would overlook appearances. Today I am going to talk about a story that also has the message we should overlook appearances and that standing out from the crowd is an act of bravery. Unlike Beauty and the Beast, in this story we aren't asked to judge an abusive animal in a castle by his inner worth, we are asked to show empathy to a little boy who by only the luck of the lottery of life was born with a medical condition that has caused a facial deformity.

August Pullman, Auggie, is starting school for the first time. Up until the 5th grade he had been home schooled due to the fact he was too ill from a lifetime of surgeries. Picturing this little boy entering a place as brutal as a primary school (middle school for my American friends) was anxiety inducing from the very start. You already feel a need to protect him against scary child villains. This novel is first told from the perspective of Auggie. Auggie loves astronauts, video games, Star Wars and his dog Daisy. He is pretty awesome. He has a caring artistic mother and a funny cool dad. He has a wonderful teenage sister dealing with the typical teenage stuff. Auggie is a typical boy in every way but has to face challenges most children do not.

The novel is then told from various perspectives of the people close to Auggie. While Auggie is the center of this book and of his family unit, it was lovely to delve into the various stories of the people who love Auggie. Auggie’s sister Via was my favourite story and while her story may have been predictable it was wonderful to get to know her. The book was filled with characters that were beautiful and complex. Summer, a girl in Auggie’s class, was my favourite character without question because she was just sweet from the very start. Of course the novel is filled the typical suspects including schoolyard bullies.

While reading this novel you keep bracing yourself for what is to be expected but every twist and turn along this journey grabs at the heartstrings. I enjoyed every second of this novel because I did not enjoy every second of this novel. Basically my overriding definition of what makes a good novel is if I’m crying throughout. I cried throughout this novel. I also cried throughout the movie when I dragged my friend Caitlin to the cinema days after finishing the novel. 

So what are the key differences from the novel to the movie?

The movie stays close to the book in all ways. As always most minor characters have been removed but unlike with Harry Potter and the removal of Peeves, this causes no outrage from me. The casting was perfect from all angles. I know most people either love or hate Owen Wilson but from reading the book I felt confident going into the movie that he was the right casting for such a loveable goofball of a dad. I mean it does drive me kind of crazy that he speaks so softly but I’m willing to overlook this because he had some hilarious moments. Also I love how Julia Roberts laughs with her whole body, she’s just so beautiful and captivating at all times but especially when she’s laughing.

A highlight of the movie was the acting of Daveed Diggs, who plays Mr. Browne, Auggie’s homeroom and English teacher. In the novel Mr. Browne is just the English teacher but they took the background story of the homeroom teacher in the novel and gave it to Mr. Browne in the film. I’m assuming to give more airtime to the awesome Diggs. Diggs does a sterling performance as a compassionate teacher. The man’s voice just calms me for some reason and I soon started wishing Mr. Browne were a real person who I could discuss precepts with.

I was concerned going into the movie that it may have been ‘watered’ down to cater to children. It is a summer movie that has been marketed as family friendly. From the trailer I became concerned when I saw one scene that was supposed to happen at night had been changed to the daytime. I’m assuming so it wasn’t as scary to a young audience. Thankfully though all these minor changes did not take away from the story. Both young and old should consume this story, both the novel and movie. The lessons never go away even when we grow up and 5^th grade is nothing more than a painful distant memory. Being a kind human being when faced with the unfamiliar is a lesson children should take with them throughout their life. Also showing courage and resilience on the days when we are treated differently for being who we are is a lesson I learnt in 5^th grade that I have never forgotten. Of course my bad days are nothing to compared to Auggie’s, and his courage and simple awesomeness is immeasurable.