Wonder

Comparisons to 1985’s Mask are all but inevitable given that Wonder’s beleaguered protagonist, the brand-new middle schooler Auggie (Tremblay), suffers from a facial deformity, Treacher Collins syndrome, that marks him as an easy target for junior high thugs and nitwits. Mom (Roberts) and Dad (Wilson, particularly warm here) have homeschooled Auggie up to this point but decide it’s time for their littlest astronaut to set the controls for the heart of the sun and so enroll him in the public school system. If you’re old enough to have seen all those Eighties ABC Afterschool Specials, or the aforementioned Mask, you’ll already be overfamiliar with this movie’s narrative. It’s more than a tad manipulative, but there’s also a moral sweetness at the heart of the film that acts as a solid takeaway for kid viewers. While it’s not exactly wonderful per se, its message is strong and clear and true: Bullies are jerkwads, true friendship is measured through word and deed, and Mandy Patinkin makes for an awesome Dumbledore/Santa Claus hybrid.