essay about capitalism in the usa 1900 to 1940

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HISTORY Gr. 11 T1 W5: Capitalism in USA 1900-1940

Capitalism in USA 1900-1940

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Capitalism in America 1900-1940

Subject: History

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

8 February 2024

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Study material to help understand Capitalism in the USA 1900-1940

Capitalism in America during the period from 1900 to 1940 saw significant transformations, characterized by rapid industrialization, economic expansion, and social change. The early 20th century marked the rise of large corporations, such as Standard Oil and U.S. Steel, which dominated industries like oil, steel, and railroads, leading to concerns about monopolistic practices. The era witnessed the emergence of the assembly line and mass production techniques, epitomized by Henry Ford’s Model T automobile, which revolutionized manufacturing and consumer culture.

However, this period was also marked by economic volatility, including the Panic of 1907 and the Great Depression of the 1930s. The stock market crash of 1929 triggered a severe economic downturn, leading to widespread unemployment, poverty, and social unrest. In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented the New Deal, a series of government programs aimed at stimulating economic recovery, regulating financial markets, and providing relief to those affected by the Depression.

Despite these challenges, capitalism in America during this period fostered innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth, laying the groundwork for the country’s emergence as a global economic powerhouse. However, it also raised questions about income inequality, labor rights, and the role of government in regulating the economy, debates that continue to shape economic policy and social discourse in the United States today.

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CAPITALISM IN AMERICA 1900-1940

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Resource Description

In a Grade 11 history class studying capitalism in the USA from 1900 to 1940, the curriculum might cover several key topics to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of this period. Here’s an outline of what might be included:

Introduction to Industrialization:

• Explanation of the transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy.
• Discussion of technological innovations and their impact on industry and society.

The Rise of Big Business:

• Exploration of key industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan.
• Analysis of the consolidation of industries and the formation of trusts and monopolies.

Labor Movements and Working Conditions:

• Overview of labor unions and their efforts to improve working conditions and wages.
• Examination of notable strikes and labor conflicts, such as the Homestead Strike and the Pullman Strike.

Immigration and Urbanization:

• Discussion of the influx of immigrants to urban areas and its impact on the labor force and social dynamics.
• Analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by immigrants in the United States during this period.

Government Regulation and Progressive Reforms:

• Examination of the role of government in regulating business practices and addressing social issues.
• Study of Progressive Era reforms, including antitrust legislation, consumer protection laws, and workplace safety regulations.

The Great Depression:

• Overview of the causes and consequences of the Great Depression, including the stock market crash of 1929.
• Analysis of the impact of the Depression on individuals, families, and communities across the United States.

The New Deal:

• Exploration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs and their aims to address the economic crisis.
• Evaluation of the effectiveness of New Deal policies in providing relief, recovery, and reform.

Social and Cultural Changes:

• Examination of social movements and cultural shifts during the early 20th century, such as the Harlem Renaissance and the women’s suffrage movement.
• Discussion of the impact of technological advancements and mass media on American society.

Historiographical Perspectives:

• Introduction to different historical interpretations of capitalism in the USA from 1900 to 1940.
• Critical analysis of primary and secondary sources to understand varying perspectives on key events and developments.

Throughout the course, students might engage in discussions, debates, and research projects to deepen their understanding of the complexities of capitalism, economic development, and social change in the United States during this transformative period.

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History Grade 11 - Topic 2 Contextual Overview

Introduction

Like communism in Russia, American capitalism was an ideological and policy framework that was varied in both approach and application. Capitalism first started taking root as an economic system during the industrial revolution beginning in England at the end of the 18th century. Industrial techniques and machinery spread from the textile mills in Lancashire to the European continent and across the Atlantic to independent America. In the last decades of the 18th century textiles mills were set up in New England, which in turn produced the first large-scale industrial techniques on the continent.

Throughout the 19th century along the north east coast of the United States, as it was expanding territorially to the west, more and more industries were set up along with new industrial techniques (one of the most famous being the Waltham-Lowell system). [1] The new industrial capitalists became incredibly powerful figures within American society, and from the 1880s to the 1920s developed a political system that relied on the close interaction between big corporations and the state. Reminiscent of the Military-Industrial Complex (coined in 1961 in by President Dwight Eisenhower), Meyer Weinberg suggests that during the half century or so precluding the ‘Roaring Twenties’, industrialists and bankers consolidated monopolies in selected – usually heavy – industries that relied on a political patronage network to function efficiently. [2] The onset of WWI further developed this relationship, where Allied purchase of American military supplies, along with the sale of Allied bonds in America, spurred on heavy industries.

In 1917, as the USA entered the war, Weinberg notes how “Major industrial interests profited greatly. Sitting at the lever of the political economy of war, industrialists learned the potentials of capitalism when it was integrated into the governmental system.” [3] It was this early, powerful relationship that set the groundwork for industrial capitalism in the first half of the 20th century.

This article brings into view the development of capitalism in the United States of America. We pay detailed attention to the crisis of capitalism that happened as a consequence of the Great Depression. From its inception, Roosevelt’s New Deal met strong criticism as it was assumed to install a “socialist” discourse and practice. To this end, we pose a question to ask whether Roosevelt’s form of state intervention to create job opportunities, as well as the social welfare system he set could be considered socialist in its orientation, and thereby undermined the capitalist system in the USA? There are no clear-cut answers to these questions, and this forces to ask a series of questions that considers the nature and significance of capitalism in the USA.

The Nature of Capitalism in the USA

It is an age-old adage that history is written by the victors. That Western capitalist countries such as USA, Britain and France  ‘defeated’ communism of the  East which was represented by the USSR Eastern Bloc with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union is one such example – in this we hear echoes of the ideological battle that raged during the cold war between the communist east and capitalist west [4] . This ideological positioning, however, stretches further back than the post-WWII era; since the early 20th century, the American political culture has defined itself as capitalist. Whilst, as we have seen, WWI brought government control of important sectors of the American economy, the post-WWI political culture wished for a return of the industrial powerhouse to an unregulated economy.

As President Warren Harding, elected in 1920, said soon after his election, “I have said to the people we meant to have less of government in business as well as more business in government.” [5] The post-WWI era represented a wish to return to ‘normalcy’ in American economic and political life. The result was a retreat into isolationism after the founding of the League of Nations at the Paris Peace Conference in 1920. Harding’s death in 1923 brought to power his vice-president, Calvin Coolidge, who would share similar sentiments to his predecessor, proclaiming that “the chief business of the American people is business.” [6] Like Harding, Coolidge was opposed to entering the League of Nations, and a number of isolationist policies came into effect during his tenure, such as the 1924 Immigration Act. During this period, then, capitalism in the USA resembled classical liberal economics – relying on a small government where the market would regulate itself, and where social wellbeing would increase accordingly.

The American Dream

The Immigration Act of 1924, which capped the number of immigrants into the USA to 165 000 a year (and further restricted immigration from non-Western European countries), represented a reversal on the promises of the ‘American Dream’. The notion of the American Dream during the beginning of the 20th century meant, as Sarah Churchwell explains, “the opposite of what it does today.” [7] The original American Dream was “not a dream of individual wealth; it was a dream of equality, justice and democracy for the nation.” [8] During the Cold War, this egalitarian democracy was then repurposed to become “an argument for a consumer capitalist version of democracy.” This, Churchwell notes, is where it has been frozen. [9] The American Dream of democratic equality – of racial and economic opportunities – drove the migrants during the early 20th century to the sprawling American empire. It was supported by the histories of the first migrants in the 1600s, who escaped religious persecution in Europe.

More modern myths surrounding the American Dream were driven by stories of individual success amongst migrants such as Andrew Carnegie, spurning an entire literature of ‘rags-to-riches’ stories etched into popular memory by writers such as Horacio Alger. [10] These stories emphasised that entrepreneurship and hard work could lift one out of poverty into a comfortable, middle-class existence. Thus, the American Dream was a more just, and equal society that everyone could obtain. During the 1920s, this was articulated as a function of democratic capitalism – that wealth would bring more freedom and justice to everyone. However, in practice, there were stark racial inequalities, religious intolerance and class divisions.

The 1920s Boom

The pro-business policies of the Republican presidents in the 1920s (which included removing labour laws and reducing business taxes and tariffs) provided a boom for manufacturing and consumerism in the United States. During the 1920s low taxes for the rich allowed for the investment, and subsequent boom, in manufacturing, helped by the increasingly easy credit extended to businesses and entrepreneurs. Easy credit was not only extended to businesses, but also consumers, in the form of higher purchase arrangements. By the end of the 1920s, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators and washing machines became “everyday household items” to an increasingly urbanised American consumer class. [11] However, these gains made by the consumer class were unstable – by the end of the 1920s, the high tariffs imposed on foreign imports – a part of its isolationist policies and desire to protect American industries - meant that every day Americans were paying high prices for their new goods. Furthermore, in response to these tariffs, European states also begun placing tariffs on American goods. Thus, with the shrinking buying power of American consumers, and limited opportunity to export American industrial goods, American industries began to suffer. [12]

The previous gains made by the American labour movement also suffered. The pro-business policies of the decade were a reaction to the progressive labour policies that characterised the early 20th century. Labour strikes and unions were dealt with more harshly, and wages were kept low. Wages did not increase along with productivity (add stat here), which in the long run meant that workers were unable to buy the goods they were producing. [13] The low tax rate for the rich, and the lowering of corporate taxes, meant that the wealthy, without enough investment opportunities in industries) would use their money for prospecting, the effects of which caused the Wall Street (which we shall come to soon).

USA Society in the 1920s

The 1920s, also known as the ‘Roaring Twenties,’ was a socially significant era in American, and Western, history. The increased urbanisation of the American population, coupled with the expansion of consumer goods, brought large parts of the country into contact with a range of new goods and ideas for the first time. The 1920s began with the 19th Amendment of the United States, which extended the voting franchise to all females (although it would take over 40 years for that to be extended to black females in the South).  During the First World War, as men were sent overseas to fight, women began to increasingly work in blue and white-collar jobs. With their new political and economic freedoms, they began to increasingly exhibit social freedoms. Symbolic of this freedom were the emergence of ‘flappers’ – women who “smoked in public, drank alcohol, danced at jazz clubs and practiced a sexual freedom” that “shocked the Victorian morality of their parents.” [14] This generation was chronicled by writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose novel The Side of Paradise was instrumental in describing – and in some ways spurring on – the ‘Jazz Age’, a term that Fitzgerald popularised. 

Jazz was actually an important social contribution to the 1920s. The rapid migration to the cities – and the meshing of cultures (think of black Southern rural folk mixing with immigrants from Europe) that emerged with it – created new cultural hybrids, of which the free movement that jazz took was and is symbolic of. The new upbeat music in the city was also sent out across the country via radio, which had become an increasingly common commodity in households across the USA (the first commercial radio station - Pittsburgh’s KDKA - began in 1920; three years later there were more than 500 stations in the USA. By the end of the 1920s, more than 12 million households had radios). [15] However, whilst there were many aspects of the 1920s that spoke to a freeing of society, this decade also brought some of the worst racial violence of the century (think of the Tulsa Race Riots of 1921).  The Roaring Twenties saw a return of the Klu Klux Klan, which had two million members by the middle of the 1920s. [16] The Klan symbolised the friction that developed in the post-WWI era: between the urban and rural areas, between Catholics and Protestants, and between whites and blacks. This friction would continue to  dominate cultural discourse in the 20th, and 21st centuries

The Wall Street Crash of 1929

On October 28th 1929, also known as Black Monday, the Wall Street Crash began. Over the next few days, stock prices crashed to a point that would take ‘another 20 years’ before ‘the Dow regained enough momentum to surpass the 200-point level.’ Everyone was affected, from stockbrokers to farmers to blue-collar workers; many people, with the new wealth that the 1920s brought, invested in stocks. They lost most of their wealth. The reasons for the Wall Street Crash have been a point of debate for almost a century. Initially, it was thought to be simply the result of speculation: that a panic arose amongst shareholders and as they sold, share prices crashed and investors subsequently lost their wealth. [17] Thus, the immediate concerns were towards the banking industry: savings that the public kept at banks was invested by these institutions in the stock market, which meant they were all lost when the stocks crashed. In this situation, both the banks and the public lost money. Furthermore, the public could not repay the easy loans they were given by the banks, at which point they repossessed homes. With the economic decline, most people having lost large amounts of wealth, the banks could not sell repossessed homes, and so they lost money. [18]

However, these were only symptoms of deeper problems within the American economy and society at large. One was the imbalance of wealth that came to increasingly describe the nation. During the 1920s, the gap between the wealthy and the rest continued to widen and was the result of the various ‘pro-business’ policies already outlined above. In particular, the low taxes placed on the wealthy led them to speculation, whilst a lack of government intervention in large industries led to monopolies and high prices for consumers. Furthermore, the harsh attitude towards organised labour meant that wages were kept low, which further exacerbated the wealth gap. But inequality was also felt across geographic localities: overall, urban centres were better off than rural centres, and the North more prosperous than the South. Here again government policies were partly to blame – the various administrations of the 1920s failed to support agriculture in any serious way. [19]

What followed after the crash was the Great Depression. The American government was unprepared for an economic recession, and the lack of state intervention in the following years only made the situation worse. In 1930 there were four million unemployed Americans; by 1931 this was 6 million. In 1933, the worst year of the Great Depression, 24.9% of the American public was unemployed, and that rate continued to hover above 14% until 1940. [20] Between 1923 and 1930, 5,000 banks collapsed. This had major political consequences. In a complete reversal of the policies of the previous decade, Franklin Roosevelt won the 1932 election, defeating the incumbent Republican President Hoover. [21]

The Election of Roosevelt

Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt came into power on the back of promises of a ‘new deal’ that would address the problems brought about by the Great Depression. He has worked with a small group of advisors, called the Brain Trust, to achieve this end. The New Deal focussed on relief for the needy, recovery of the economy and reform of the economic system, specifically focusing on banks and the stock market. [22] The New Deal overtly rejected socialism but promoted government intervention to restore prosperity and reduce inequality. Roosevelt adopted 15 pieces of New Deal legislation in the first 100 days of office. [23] .

Analysis of the New Deal

The first New Deal occurred from 1993 to 1935. In an effort to provide relief for the most needy, soup kitchens were established along with temporary housing. Funding was given by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. In an effort to spur on economic recovery, several recovery programmes were implemented, amongst them the Civil Works Administration (CWA) - a job creation program. In addition, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided thousands of men with jobs at national parks, public lands and other conservation projects. Within the recovery programmes there was the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) which subsidized farmers to reduce their production and destroy their crops and livestock, so that supply could be reduced to increase the lowering demand in an effort to have better prices. In the reforming the economic system, Roosevelt implemented an emergency Banking Relief Act which stipulated that only banks deemed to be financially sound would be permitted to reopen their doors. To increase confidence, the government secured guaranteed deposits of investors in an effort to curb hoarding. [24]

The New Deal brought criticism from different parts of society, especially the wealthy and conservatives who were opposed to high taxes and the nascent social security network just being set up. [25] Furthermore, Republicans feared that the government was spending more money than it could afford, which would result in even higher taxes and a bloated bureaucracy. On the other hand, some left-wing groups criticised the New Deal for not being radical, arguing for the redistribution of wealth and the setting of a national minimum wage [26] . In addition, communists in America perceived Roosevelt as an autocratic leader. Within the Democratic Party there was also opposition, particularly from  representatives of Southern States who refused to see African Americans as political and social equals.

Assessment of the New Deal

For some, the advent of the New Deal threatened the cherished free market. However, one could argue that it prevented a potential revolution, driven by the unemployed and hungry. President Roosevelt restored confidence in liberal democracy. The New Deal removed the dangers of an unregulated economy without abandoning capitalism in America. [27] While the New Deal did not end the Great Depression, it brought back dignity to the American people.  However, the massive intervention of the state in the economy contradicted the belief of many capitalists. The corporatist state that the New Deal created (and which, to be accurate, was the state of capitalism during the late 19th and early 20th century) a new relationship between labour and business. [28] Labour provided a stable workforce whereas the government made sure to regulate markets when they became unstable. Conservative capitalists viewed this as socialism.

Outbreak of the World War II and the economic recovery of the USA

In 1937 there was a recession, which came to be known as the Roosevelt Recession. It was caused by cut backs on the New Deal reforms. During the mid-1930s, Hitler was on an aggressive path which eventually caused World War II. During this time, Roosevelt saw that the USSR was hoping to open up trade. In recognition of this, the USA employed three Acts so they would remain neutral. The first Act was stopping any shipment of US weapons to any countries who were involved in the war. The second Act was US loans to any countries who were involved in the war. [29] Lastly, the USA forbid any US citizen to travel on ships which belonged to any country which was at war. However, the US allowed food sales to countries at war on a ‘cash and carry’ basis. Due to improved economic conditions caused by an increase in industrial production, the USA was prepared for possible involvement in WW2. The US did this by providing their allies with war materials. In addition, the USA started drafting men into the army. In 1941, the USA officially entered WW2 where they fought Japan and Germany. This was a time where there was more prosperity in the US as government increased their spending.  The economic recovery of the USA was aided by the demand of weapons and in turn of raw materials to revitalise industry in the States. [30] By being involved in the war, the United States government invested significant capital into industries and men for the War. This was the beginning of the military-industrial complex which describes the close relationship between a nations military and its defines industry which supply it which together have a vested interest in influencing public policy. [31]

Impacts of and responses to the crises of capitalism in the USA in other parts of the world, such as Germany and Japan

The Great Depression spread throughout the world. When the USA recalled their loans, bank failures occurred across Europe. [32] Japan and Germany responded to this with militarist governments. Germany suffered more than any other nation as a result of the recall of US loans, which caused its economy to collapse. Unemployment rocketed, poverty soared and Germans became desperate. [33] Hitler quickly set about dismantling German democracy. The American and British governments developed welfare systems to aid their public. The 1929 New York Stock Exchange crash and the failure of important European banks plunged the entire world into an economic depression. Japan was hit especially hard. With practically no natural resources, the nation had to import oil, iron, steel, and other commodities to keep its industry and military forces alive. [34] The USSR survived and escaped the depression because of the Stalinist ‘Socialism in One Country,’ which favoured independent industrialisation, not reliant on the industries of other nations. Countries that exported raw products to the USA – such as Latin American countries, which exported farm produce - were affected the most.

Conclusion: The cyclical nature of capitalism

Capitalism typically displays a boom and bust cycle. Booms are defined as periods of economic growth categorized by increased spending through credit. Increased spending also encourages economic growth though raising stock market indexes [35] . However, in turn, increased price indexes lead to reduced investment and consumption spending due to high prices. Reduced investment spending and consumption are components of the bust part of the economic cycle as economic activity declines. The cycle reinforces itself as the government intervenes with fiscal policies that are meant to promote economic growth again. [36] In the context of the US, the 1920 economic boom followed directly by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 shows an example of this boom-bust cycle.

This content was originally produced for the SAHO classroom by Sebastian Moronell, Ayabulela Ntwakumba, Simone van der Colff & Thandile Xesi

[1] Allan MacDonald. "Lowell: A Commercial Utopia." The New England Quarterly 10, no. 1 (1937): 37-62.

[2] Meyer Weinberg. A Short History of American Capitalism. Amherst, MA: New History Press, 2003.

[4] Ost, David. The defeat of solidarity. Cornell University Press, 2018.

[5] Encyclopaedia Britannica. Warren G. Harding | Facts, Accomplishments, & Biography. [online] Available at: < https://www.britannica.com/biography/Warren-G-Harding&gt ; [Accessed 30 March 2021].

[6] Encyclopaedia Britannica. Calvin Coolidge | Biography, Facts, & Quotes. [online] Available at: < https://www.britannica.com/biography/Calvin-Coolidge&gt ; [Accessed 30 March 2021].

[7] Diamond, A. The Original Meanings of the “American Dream” and “America First” Were Starkly Different from How We Use Them Today. [online] Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: < https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/behold-america-american-dream-sl… ; [Accessed 30 March 2021].

[10] Wills, Matthew, 2020. The Creepy Backstory to Horatio Alger's Bootstrap Capitalism | JSTOR Daily. [online] JSTOR Daily. Available at: < https://daily.jstor.org/the-creepy-backstory-to-horatio-algers-bootstra… ; [Accessed 31 March 2021].

[11] The Balance. n.d. The Economy in the 1920s and What Caused the Great Depression. [online] Available at: < https://www.thebalance.com/roaring-twenties-4060511&gt ; [Accessed 31 March 2021].

[12] Pettinger, T., n.d. What caused the Wall Street Crash of 1929? - Economics Help. [online] Economics Help. Available at: < https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/76/economics/wall-street-crash-1929/… ; [Accessed 6 April 2021].

[14] HISTORY. n.d. Flappers. [online] Available at: < https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/flappers&gt ; [Accessed 31 March 2021].

[15] HISTORY. n.d. The Roaring Twenties. [online] Available at: < https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/roaring-twenties-histor… ; [Accessed 1 April 2021].

[17]   Pettinger, T., n.d. What caused the Wall Street Crash of 1929? - Economics Help. [online] Economics Help. Available at: < https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/76/economics/wall-street-crash-1929/… ; [Accessed 6 April 2021].

[19] The Balance. n.d. The Economy in the 1920s and What Caused the Great Depression. [online] Available at: < https://www.thebalance.com/roaring-twenties-4060511&gt ; [Accessed 31 March 2021].

[20] The Balance. 2021. Compare Today's Unemployment with the Past. [online] Available at: < https://www.thebalance.com/unemployment-rate-by-year-3305506#:~:text=Th… ; [Accessed 1 April 2021].

[21] Douglas F. Dowd, "A Comparative Analysis of Economic Development in the American West and South," Journal of Economic History, 16 (December 1956), p. 569

[22] Schlesiinger, Arthur M. The Coming of the New Deal: The Age of Roosevelt, 1933-1935. Vol. 2. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003.

[23] Wallis, John Joseph, Price V. Fishback, and Shawn Kantor. “11. Politics, Relief, and Reform: Roosevelt’s Efforts to Control Corruption and Political Manipulation during the New Deal.” In Corruption and Reform, pp. 343-372. University of Chicago Press, 2007.

[24] Terms 1 and 2 Grade 11 Topic 2 “Capitalism in the US 1900 to 1940” – Study Notes. This can be found at  www.e-classroom.co.za . (Accessed 30 March 2021). 

[25] Zelizer, Julian E. “The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal: Fiscal Conservatism and the Roosevelt Administration, 11933-1938” Presidential Studies Quartely 30, no. 2 (2000): 332-359.

[26] Bellus, Jewel. “Old and New Left Reappraisals of the New Deal  and Roosevelts Presidency.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 9, no. 3 (1979): 243-266.

[27]   Olson, James Stuart. Saving Capitalism, The Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the New Deal, 1933-1940. Princeton University Press, 2017.

[28] Stors, Landon RY. Civilizing Capitalism: The National Consumers’ League, Women’s Activism, and Labor Standards in the New Deal Era. University of North Carolina Press, 2003.

[29] Heinrichs, Waldo H. Threshold of War: Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Entry into World War II. Oxford University Press on Demand, 1988.

[30] Tassava, Christopher. “The American Economy during World War II”. EH.Net Encyclopedia

[32]   Moessner, Richhild, and William A. Allen. Banking crises and the international monetary system in the Great Depression and now.”  (2010)

[33] http://teacher.scholastic.com/pearl/timeline/time4.htm#:~:text=The%2019… .

• Diamond, A. The Original Meanings of the “American Dream” and “America First” Were Starkly Different from How We Use Them Today. [online] Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: < https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/behold-america-american-dream-slogan-book-sarah-churchwell-180970311/ > [Accessed 30 March 2021].
• Encyclopaedia Britannica. Warren G. Harding | Facts, Accomplishments, & Biography. [online] Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Warren-G-Harding> [Accessed 30 March 2021].
• Encyclopaedia Britannica. Calvin Coolidge | Biography, Facts, & Quotes. [online] Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Calvin-Coolidge> [Accessed 30 March 2021].
• Gertner, N. and Heriot, G., n.d. Interpretation: The Nineteenth Amendment | The National Constitution Center. [online] constitutioncenter.org. Available at: <https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-xix/interps/145> [Accessed 31 March 2021].
• HISTORY. n.d. The Roaring Twenties. [online] Available at: <https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/roaring-twenties-history> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
• HISTORY. n.d. Flappers. [online] Available at: <https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/flappers> [Accessed 31 March 2021].
• http://teacher.scholastic.com/pearl/timeline/time4.htm#:~:text=The%201929%20New%20York%20Stock,industry%20and%20military%20forces%20alive.
• MacDonald, Allan. "Lowell: A Commercial Utopia." The New England Quarterly 10, no. 1 (1937): 37-62.
• Ost, David. The defeat of solidarity. Cornell University Press, 2018.
• Pettinger, T., n.d. What caused the Wall Street Crash of 1929? - Economics Help. [online] Economics Help. Available at: <https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/76/economics/wall-street-crash-1929/> [Accessed 6 April 2021].
• Tassava, Christopher. “The American Economy during World War II”. EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. February 10, 2008. URL http://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-american-economy-during-world-war-ii/ [Accessed on 30 March 2021]
• Terms 1 and 2 Grade 11 Topic 2 “Capitalism in the US 1900 to 1940” – Study Notes. This can be found at  www.e-classroom.co.za . (Accessed 30 March 2021). 
• The Balance. n.d. The Economy in the 1920s and What Caused the Great Depression. [online] Available at: <https://www.thebalance.com/roaring-twenties-4060511> [Accessed 31 March 2021].
• The Balance. 2021. Compare Today's Unemployment with the Past. [online] Available at: <https://www.thebalance.com/unemployment-rate-by-year-3305506#:~:text=The%20highest%20rate%20of%20U.S.,1982%20when%20it%20reached%2010.1%25.&text=The%20lowest%20unemployment%20rate%20was%201.2%25%20in%201944.> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
• Tulsa Historical Society & Museum. n.d. 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre - Tulsa Historical Society & Museum. [online] Available at: <https://www.tulsahistory.org/exhibit/1921-tulsa-race-massacre/> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
• Weinberg, Meyer. A Short History of American Capitalism. Amherst, MA: New History Press, 2003.
• Wills, Matthew, 2020. The Creepy Backstory to Horatio Alger's Bootstrap Capitalism | JSTOR Daily. [online] JSTOR Daily. Available at: <https://daily.jstor.org/the-creepy-backstory-to-horatio-algers-bootstrap-capitalism/> [Accessed 31 March 2021].

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Film Review: ‘Wonder’

Stephen Chbosky's drama of a middle-school kid with a facial deformity proves that a movie that sounds mawkish on paper can earn honest tears.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), the central character in Stephen Chbosky ’s “ Wonder ,” is a brainy 10-year-old boy with a sweet high voice and a congenital facial deformity, whom numerous corrective surgeries have left looking like a cherub after a car accident. His left eye tugs downward as if a teardrop were falling from it; his ears are bulbs of flesh, and his face is framed by a pinkish ring of scar tissue. That said, he’s not the Phantom of the Opera. He’s just an ordinary kid whose looks take a bit of getting used to.

Auggie is a science geek who loves “Star Wars” and Minecraft, ice cream and X-Box sports games; he’s fueled by all-American fantasies of going to outer space. (He likes to walk around in a toy astronaut helmet that conceals him and feeds his dreams.) His face, which looks youthful and old at the same time, is jarring the first time you see it, but the more you take in his innocent if slightly askew elfin features, the more his soul shines through. Any thoughts that he’s ugly, or odd, are really in the eye of the beholder.

Movies about people with dramatic disfigurements run a high risk of being mawkish and manipulative. Yet maybe because the dangers of grotesque sentimentality loom so large, a handful of filmmakers, over the years, have made a point of taking on stories like this one and treading carefully around the pitfalls. David Lynch did it in “The Elephant Man” (1980), his shrewdly restrained, underbelly-of-London Gothic horror weeper, which revealed John Merrick, beneath his warped and bubbled flesh, to be a figure of entrancing delicacy. Peter Bogdanovich did it in “Mask” (1985), his straight-up tale of a teenager with a face of scowling strangeness who came to embrace the person he was.

“Wonder” is a movie that belongs in their company. It’s a very tasteful heart-tugger — a drama of disarmingly level-headed empathy that glides along with wit, assurance, and grace, and has something touching and resonant to say about the current climate of American bullying. At the same time, the film never upsets the apple cart of conventionality. “Wonder” is an honest feel-good movie, but it lacks the pricklier edges of art.

Auggie has been home-schooled by his mother, Isabel ( Julia Roberts ), in their cozy Brooklyn brownstone. But now that he’s 10, she and Auggie’s dad, Nate ( Owen Wilson ), have made the decision to send him to middle school. They know they can’t shield him from the world forever, and they have no desire to.

Roberts and Wilson make a compelling team; they play the Pullmans as supremely sensitive, loving parents who have the occasional tug-of-war spat about what’s best for their special son. Yet both want him to stand up for himself, and to be part of a community. Auggie wants that, too, though the kids he meets at Beecher Prep School don’t make it easy. By the end of his first day there, he has already been nicknamed (after one of his favorite “Star Wars” characters) “Barf Hideous,” and he chops off the rat-tail braid that’s his only fashion statement — a testament to the destructive power of peer pressure. Just enough of the kids treat Auggie like a freak to make the belief that he is one tough for him to shake.

This is the third feature directed by Chbosky, the novelist who actually got his start as a filmmaker (with the 1995 indie “The Four Corners of Nowhere”), and it was his second, “ The Perks of Being a Wallflower ” (2012), that established him as a major directorial voice. Adapted from his own first novel, “Perks” was the most remarkable coming-of-age movie in years, a drama that took in, with astonishing authenticity, the pleasures and perils of teenage life. (It also used David Bowie’s “Heroes” in a way that’s so transporting it trumps every musical sequence in “Baby Driver.”) “Wonder” is a movie by the same sharp-eyed, open-hearted, close-to-the-ground filmmaker. Chbosky, working in the tradition of Jonathan Demme, doesn’t hype what he shows you, and he cuts to the humanity of everyone on screen, even those who act badly. (He has a touching refusal to demonize.)

“Wonder,” adapted from R.J. Palacio’s 2012 novel (which took its title from the 1995 Natalie Merchant song about overcoming disfigurement), is a less audacious film than “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” But Chbosky’s intense understanding of the layered personalities of kids is a rare gift. He lets the movie breathe by refusing to restrict the drama to Auggie’s point of view. It’s built around his gentle sadness and yearning, but it opens up into chapters told from the vantage of Jack (Noah Jupe), his science-class partner, who looks like he might be turning into Auggie’s buddy, only to leave him with a sense that he can’t trust anyone; and Auggie’s high-school sister, Via (Izabela Vidoovic), who’s the most complicated character in the movie. She has grown up in a family so organized around Auggie that her own needs can never come first. She wouldn’t think to question that, but the dynamic has graced her with both compassion and a hidden wound, and Vidovic’s pensive presence lends her scenes a rapt center of gravity.

Chbosky has a sixth sense for how to let a drama flow from anecdote to anecdote. Auggie’s favorite holiday, Halloween, leads to the moment when he overhears Jack, goaded by the smug, fashionable Julian (Bryce Gheisar), snarking to the other kids about him — a devastating betrayal, but one that turns out to be crucial to cementing their friendship. Jack can’t get past his prejudice until he has outed it. “Wonder” is a movie that’s finely attuned to what bullying is actually about: kids walling off their feelings, giving into the dark side of themselves to be superior. Bullies, of course, weren’t born bad, but in “Wonder” the idea is no pious abstraction — it plays out in every encounter between Auggie and those who would treat him meanly. The scenes are really about how his presence is a threat to their too-cool-for-schoolness.

“Wonder,” as effective as it is, is a movie in which everything has a way of working out with tidy benevolence. Via goes from being shunned by her best friend (Danielle Rose Russell), who has joined a hipper clique, to falling for a charismatic kid (Nadji Jeter) from the drama club to trying out for a student production of “Our Town” to winning her friend back to becoming the understudy who knocks ’em dead on opening night. Auggie, over the course of fifth grade, goes from being the school goat to a school hero. Yet Jacob Tremblay, acting from behind his transformative make-up, roots that journey in something real: the fact that who you are, whether you look like Auggie Pullman or someone more “normal,” can be a prison or a liberation, depending on the path you choose. Of all the films this year with “wonder” in the title (“Wonderstruck,” “Wonder Woman,” “Wonder Wheel,” “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women”), this is the one that comes closest to living up to the emotional alchemy of that word.

Reviewed at Park Avenue Screening Room, New York, Nov. 8, 2017. MPAA Rating: PG. Running time: 113 MIN.

• Production: A Lionsgate release of a Lionsgate, Mandeville Films, Participant Media, Walden Media production. Producers: David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman. Executive producers: Jeff Skoll, Robert Kessel, Michael Beugg, Alexander Young, R.J. Palaco. Director: Stephen Chbosky. Screenplay: Stephen Chbosky, Steven Conrad, Jack Thorne. Camera (color, widescreen): Don Burgess. Editor: Mark Livolsi.
• With: Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Noah Jupe, Nadji Jeter, Daveed Diggs, Mandy Patinkin, Ali Liebert, Emma Tremblay, Millie Davis.

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‘wonder’: film review.

A boy with a craniofacial disorder ventures beyond the cocoon of homeschooling in 'Wonder,' a family drama starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay.

By Sheri Linden

Sheri Linden

Senior Copy Editor/Film Critic

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Based on a children’s novel that sparked a “Choose Kind” movement — “kind” as in “kindness,” or what the world needs now — Wonder brings an upbeat openheartedness to tough questions. Its lessons in compassion and self-acceptance are treacle-free, and however movie-shiny the story’s world of economic comfort and prep school, those lessons pack a universal punch.

If they’re also sometimes driven home with a borderline-corny obviousness, that’s because this screen version of R. J. Palacio’s popular book is a truly kid-centric drama, speaking directly to kids, not around them, while exploring their points of view. Writer-director Stephen Chbosky , who previously adapted his coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower to the screen, has a feel for the turning points that shape the tween and teen years — turning points that are, in this case, heightened by exceptional circumstances.

Release date: Nov 17, 2017

Tracing a milestone year in the life of a boy who was born with craniofacial differences, Wonder has an obvious antecedent in Peter Bogdanovich’s deft 1985 feature Mask , but this is a decidedly less gritty, solidly middle-school tale. With his co-screenwriters, Steven Conrad and Jack Thorne , Chbosky aims above all to inspire, and he has harnessed the considerable star power of his three leads to do just that, with humor and heart. As a serious live-action film for kids, it’s a rare commodity, destined to connect with family audiences over the year-end holidays.

It might be impossible to separate the adorable visage of Jacob Tremblay from his breakout turn in Room , but here, with that now-familiar face erased from the equation, he more than meets a different  actorly challenge. Beneath prosthetics and a dash of CGI, he plays Auggie Pullman, who at 10 has already been through 27 surgical procedures to correct his birth-defect facial abnormalities. The cheerful, matter-of-fact display of Auggie’s hospital bracelets in his bedroom sets the tone for the movie: Acknowledged with gentle irreverence, medical ordeals are the character-shaping backdrop to a story that looks forward, focused on resilience and transition.

Grudgingly and at the urging of his mother, Isabel (Julia Roberts), who has put her creative pursuits on hold while homeschooling him, Auggie is starting fifth grade at a local prep school. Though he’d never express it to his son, Auggie’s dad, Nate ( Owen Wilson ), shares his trepidation, afraid that he and Isabel are sending a “lamb to the slaughter.”

To be sure, the horrors of schoolkid cliques and bullies, led by a trust-fund brat named Julian (Bryce Gheisar ), await Auggie as they would any outsider, let alone someone whose looks are so unusual. But his principal (Mandy Patinkin ) is an unmitigated mensch, his homeroom teacher (played by Daveed Diggs , star of Broadway’s Hamilton , in his first film role) spouts thoughtful precepts on how to be a good person and his science teacher (Ali Liebert ) encourages Auggie’s love of the subject.

The narrative is divided into chapters, each dedicated to the perspective of one of the young characters, and sometimes doubles back on events, lending new facets and dimension. First up is  Auggie , who enters the fifth-grade fray with the slouch of someone who’d rather not face other people’s discomfort. His older sister, Via (sensitively played by Izabela Vidovic ), gets a chapter, as do her former best friend, Miranda (Danielle Rose Russell), and Auggie’s new school buddy Jack (Noah Jupe ), a genial scholarship student with an unsteady sense of loyalty. With commendable concision and insight, the film sympathetically reveals the challenges they each face on the home front. Even the villainous Julian gets a redemptive aha moment.

There’s a particular poignancy to the story of Via, the sibling unavoidably sidelined by the constant state of emergency in Auggie’s first years. Sonia Braga’s flashback cameo as Via’s grandmother underscores not just a bond that sustained the girl but the basic need to be seen — a need that’s awfully complicated for Auggie . While her brother reluctantly doffs his astronaut’s helmet and learns to navigate a public sphere amid taunts and stares, Via embarks on her momentous first year of high school. Heartbroken over the rift with Miranda, she discovers first love with a self-declared theater nerd ( Nadji Jeter) and her own flair for theater, claiming the spotlight for the first time in years.

Via and Auggie’s parents are supporting characters in the best sense, with Roberts and Wilson bringing effortless warmth, signature touches and well-etched detail to understated roles. Roberts conveys Isabel’s love, strength and twinges of maternal anxiety, as well as the mild case of empty nest syndrome that strikes after she nudges her boy out into the world. Wilson’s comic relief is perfectly pitched, a smooth deflection of paternal worry. Beyond his childlike streak, Nate is an unconventional type whose executive-suite suits are more a badge of familial devotion than a reflection of his deepest self.

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Within the film’s bright, sanitized rendition of New York (a Times Square New Year’s Eve never looked so uncrowded), Chbosky interweaves Auggie’s fanboy fantasies of NASA and Star Wars , sequences whose cosmic whimsy serves to deepen the down-to-earth vibe. Though the drama is firmly grounded, its grasp of nuance comes and goes. Yet even at its clumsiest, a climactic lesson in anti-bullying and forgiveness, the adventure-story earnestness feels apt for grade-school-age moviegoers.

Through it all, Tremblay gives full-blooded life to Auggie’s emotional roller coaster of breakthroughs and betrayals, his posture and energy shifting expressively; he’s transformed, not hidden, by the prosthetic makeup (designed by Arjen Tuiten , whose credits include  Pan’s Labyrinth and  Maleficent ).

Whether Auggie is declaring his understandable enthusiasm for Halloween, making sharp observations about his schoolmates or demanding answers to some of life’s knottiest questions, the sweetness of the young actor’s voice heightens the sense of optimism and vulnerability. Wonder is a story of connection, not suffering. Dramatizing one boy’s effect on the people around him, it invites the viewer into that fold.

Production companies: Lionsgate , Participant Media, Walden Media, Mandeville Films Distributor: Lionsgate Cast: Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay , Izabela Vidovic , Mandy Patinkin , Daveed Diggs , Sonia Braga, Danielle Rose Russell, Nadji Jeter, Noah Jupe , Bryce Gheisar , Millie Davis, Elle McKinnon , Ali Liebert , Ty Consiglio , Kyle Breitkopf , James Hughes Director: Stephen Chbosky Screenwriters: Stephen Chbosky , Steven Conrad, Jack Thorne; based on the novel by R. J. Palacio Producers: Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman Executive producers: Jeff Skoll , Robert Kessel , Michael Beugg , R.J. Palacio , Alexander Young Director of photography: Don Burgess Production designer: Kalina Ivanov Costume designer: Monique Prudhomme Editor: Mark Livolsi Composer: Marcelo Zarvos Special makeup designer and creator: Arjen Tuiten Casting directors: Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood, Jennifer Smith

Rated PG, 113 minutes

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Review: In ‘Wonder,’ a Not-So-Ordinary Boy Makes His Way

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By Glenn Kenny

• Nov. 16, 2017

“I know I’m not an ordinary 10-year-old kid,” says Auggie ( Jacob Tremblay ), the lead character of “Wonder,” as we see him standing on his bed wearing an astronaut’s helmet. When the helmet is removed, we know how he knows what he knows: His young face is scarred, his earlobes are little flaps and his eyes are seemingly tear-shaped, giving him a perpetual sad-puppy expression.

The good-natured fellow describes his facial birth defects, and the 27 operations he’s endured to deal with them, as “hilarious.” But Auggie is less amused by the prospect of entering the fifth grade, and no longer being home-schooled by his brilliant and loving mother, Isabel Pullman (Julia Roberts).

The Pullmans are an upper-middle-class family living in a fairy-tale New York, one that the film’s location manager conjured up from the most genteel corners of Brooklyn and Manhattan (as well as New Westminster, British Columbia, where the interior of the family’s brownstone was built on a warehouse stage). So Auggie, whose father, Nate (Owen Wilson), has a job that lets him wear a suit and sneakers, is certainly going to a good school. Nonetheless, he knows that he will encounter bullies, and he does. But Auggie is smart, clever and exceptionally good-hearted (at least when he is not being made to feel self-conscious and alone), and has a knack for winning people over.

The movie, based on the popular children’s novel by R.J. Palacio , hews to the book’s multicharacter narration structure. This tactic reminded me of a line in Jean Renoir’s classic “The Rules of the Game” about everybody having their own reasons for their behavior. In Renoir’s movie, that fact is called a “truly terrible thing.” In the world of this film, understanding another person’s reasons is the first step in establishing meaningful communication. During the section of the film narrated by Auggie’s older sister, Via (Izabela Vidovic), you learn why, in an awkward first conversation with her future boyfriend, she impulsively tells him that she’s an only child, despite the fact that she loves and ardently protects her little brother.

Directed by Stephen Chbosky, who wrote the screenplay with Steve Conrad and Jack Thorne, the movie has a cast that’s wonderful from top to bottom. As Auggie’s parents, Ms. Roberts and Mr. Wilson are doing things we love to see those actors doing. (Ms. Roberts lets loose with her trademark ebullient laugh at least once, and Mr. Wilson explains life’s issues to Auggie in a droll drawl.) All the young people in the ensemble, anchored by Mr. Tremblay’s Auggie, are perfect.

“Wonder” is that rare thing, a family picture that moves and amuses while never overtly pandering. Mr. Chbosky’s 2012 feature, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” split the difference between the sentimental heart-tugging associated with more standard Hollywood fare, and the intelligence and intimacy often associated with independent films. He accomplishes something very similar, and equally worthwhile, here.

Wonder Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 53 minutes.

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Wonder leans on its great cast to tell an engaging, warmhearted family story

Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, and Owen Wilson star in a movie based on the best-selling novel.

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The old maxim exhorting us to “be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” is the thesis of Wonder — it’s even quoted at the end of the film — and Wonder handles it well, following a boy named August Pullman, his family, and his friends through a year of change in their lives.

August, nicknamed Auggie, was born with a chromosome condition that causes facial deformities, and after 27 surgeries he still looks noticeably different from other kids his age. His perspective on his life is certainly the core of the movie, and that’s part of what made the novel it’s based on a best-seller.

But Wonder doesn’t focus exclusively on Auggie, and that’s its biggest strength. The film’s bigger story is that even though Auggie’s family — his parents, his sister, even his dog — has bent their lives around his, they, too, are dealing with their own struggles. So are Auggie’s friends, and even his enemies.

While the movie’s premise feels prone to the maudlin, it’s ultimately quite poignant; Wonder is a family-oriented tale in which people make mistakes in the way they treat one another, but learn and grow in a way that doesn’t feel condescending to the film’s younger audience. Importantly, Wonder is also a movie about a young boy with a condition that makes him stand out from his peers — but it doesn’t valorize or patronize him by painting him as a saint. It respects Auggie too much for that.

Wonder is a sensitive exploration of the many ways people struggle in ordinary life

The movie picks up as Auggie ( Jacob Tremblay ) is getting ready to attend school for the first time, a new fifth-grader who’s been homeschooled thus far. His mother Isabel ( Julia Roberts ), his father Nate ( Owen Wilson ), and his sister Via ( Izabela Vidovic ) are all supportive and encouraging, but he’s not convinced it’s a step he is ready to take, and when they walk him to school through the park on his first day, he’s reticent to take off his beloved astronaut helmet.

Thanks to the school’s kindly headmaster, Mr. Tushman ( Mandy Patinkin ), Auggie has already met three of his classmates: chatty Charlotte ( Elle McKinnon ); quiet Jack Will ( Noah Jupe ); and two-faced Julian ( Bryce Gheisar ), who performs niceness around adults but harbors a serious mean streak. He soon meets another classmate, the immediately kind-to-him Summer ( Millie Davis ), and likes his energetic teacher Mr. Browne ( Daveed Diggs ), but school is still difficult for Auggie. He knows the other kids are looking at him, even if nobody is being mean. Every day makes him question whether he’ll ever be able to feel like he truly fits in.

His sister Via, meanwhile, is in high school and discovering that her lifelong best friend Miranda ( Danielle Rose Russell ) has changed over the summer. She joins theater and makes a new friend, Justin ( Nadji Jeter ), but simultaneously grapples with feeling as if she’s in second place regarding her parents’ affections — something she’s grown used to, given Auggie’s great need for care and attention.

Via’s story is told from her perspective, which adds layers to our understanding of her, and Wonder delves into the perspectives of other characters, too: Jack Will, Miranda, Isabel, and even Julian. It turns out that learning about other people’s fears, wants, hurts, and joys can make everything those people do — the bad stuff and the good stuff — make more sense. And as the school year goes on, they all grow in their maturity and relationships with one another, and in their ability to experience empathy.

The film leans on strong characters and a strong cast to tell a warm, meaningful story

Wonder succeeds largely on the strength of its cast, which includes a bevy of stellar performers led by Tremblay’s sensitive portrayal of Auggie as a complicated kid who worries about his classmates but sometimes yells at his parents and sister, too.

But it’s also a tricky story to tell without tipping over into manipulation. Director Stephen Chbosky ( The Perks of Being a Wallflower ) adapted R.J. Palacio’s source novel into a screenplay with Steve Conrad and Jack Thorne , and it neatly avoids becoming a didactic after-school special about why it’s important for people to be kind by letting the story work as a character piece, full of humor and warmth and conflict and fun. Sometimes the adults deliver speeches about growing up and dealing with life, but those speeches always seem to flow organically from their characters.

Of course, Wonder is still a moderately sentimental film. And as a movie called Wonder that’s aimed at families, that characteristic is practically in its DNA. But it earns the sentiment. Auggie struggles, and so do his parents, and his sister, and his friends. And so do we all. A bit of kindness is never out of place. And these days, it seems more important than ever.

Wonder opens in theaters on November 17.

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Jacob Tremblay and Julia Roberts star in a film that’s shamelessly sentimental but (almost) never mawkish or manipulative

When a comedy pulls out the stops to get laughs, or a horror film goes to extremes to frighten its audience, we accept and even applaud these tactics as an inherent part of these respective genres. So if “Wonder” wants to be a tear-jerker — and that desire is stamped into pretty much every scene of the film — we can’t fault its single-minded desire to provoke a response.

Giving the film credit where it’s due, “Wonder” never cheats in its pursuit of emotion. It’s (almost) never mawkish or manipulative, and its characters are so well-established both in the writing and in the performances that the movie ultimately does the hard work of earning those damp Kleenexes. As with horror and comedy, those who are resistant to this kind of film will definitely resist this one in particular.

Adapting the novel by R.J. Palacio, director Stephen Chbosky (“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”) and his co-writers Steve Conrad (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”) and Jack Thorne (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”) throw out a wide net of compassion. “Wonder” is a story about a kid who’s different, yes, but it’s also about the people around him as well. Even the bullies get backstories and a shot at redemption.

The different kid is Auggie (Jacob Tremblay, “Room”), born with a congenital disorder that has caused him to have 27 surgeries in his 10 years of life, allowing him to breathe and to hear and also to reshape his face. But it’s still an unusual face, one that he prefers to hide from the world in his astronaut helmet. He’s got a loving family — and one of the biggest New York brownstones ever, even by movie standards — but it’s time for Auggie to meet the world.

His mom Isabel (Julia Roberts) has home-schooled Auggie all his life, but since fifth grade is a year when all the students will be attending a new school, she’s decided it’s time for her boy to leave the nest. The school’s principal Mr. Tushman (Mandy Patinkin) is supportive, although Auggie’s classmates do a lot of staring and then looking away. He’s actively bullied by rich-kid Julian (Bryce Gheisar, “A Dog’s Purpose”) but may find a friend in scholarship student Jack Will (Noah Jupe).

“Wonder” isn’t just Auggie’s story, though; we learn what it’s been like for his older sister Via (Izabela Vidovic, “The Fosters”) to grow up in a family where her younger brother and his medical issues get all the parental attention; how Isabel put her thesis aside to become a full-time mom (it’s been so long since she worked on it that it’s still saved on a floppy disk); who’s raising Jack Will and Julian and how that impacts their actions and attitudes; and why Via’s best friend Miranda (Danielle Rose Russell, “The Last Tycoon”) put pink streaks in her hair and dumped her former BFF.

It could have been very easy for this to be the sort of film that merely allows audiences to take a good, long look at a character with facial defects (while encouraging us to judge characters who do likewise), but instead, this is a celebration of empathy, a reminder that even the people who might be making us miserable have their own problems and their own people who are making them miserable. Its secret weapon is Tremblay, whose big, Keane-painting eyes defy you not to melt over Auggie and his travails, but it’s a solid ensemble through and through.

Nobody pivots from tough-as-nails to quivering mass of tears like Roberts, and she and Owen Wilson make for dream parents. (What Wilson does for a living, and how it allows him to keep this gigantic house while also spending so much quality time with his son, is never explained.) The other kids are all great as well, particularly Jupe, who was the only notable facet of “Suburbicon”; there’s nothing actor-ish about his curious eyes, and when Jack Will stands up for Auggie, we know our hero is in good hands.

Auggie’s health issues represent the closest thing to uncomfortable reality that “Wonder” would care to address. Cinematographer Don Burgess (“Allied”) gives us a picture-postcard Manhattan, where all the seasons have luster and all the streets are tree-lined and filled with nice folks. If the film strays too far toward shamelessness, it’s in putting a beloved pet in danger as well as giving us not one but two scenes with that dreaded cliché of uplift, the standing ovation .

If you can get past those, though, “Wonder” deserves its own round of applause for its unabashed emotionalism and kindness. It’s hard to traverse this ground without turning into a greeting card, but this is that rare film that juggles sentimentality and restraint.

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'Wonder': Review

By Tim Grierson, Senior US Critic 2017-11-12T04:02:00+00:00

Room ’s Jacob Tremblay is a young boy with facial differences in this adaptation of R.H. Palacio’s 2012 bestseller

Source: Lionsgate

Dir: Stephen Chbosky. US. 2017. 113mins

Sentimentality overwhelms story in Wonder , an emotional, sometimes sharply observant tearjerker that advocates for kindness in a world that’s often cruel. But although thoughtfully rendered, this unashamedly sappy drama about a 10-year-old boy with facial differences eventually succumbs to its worst touchy-feely tendencies. One walks away from the experience admiring the characters more than the convoluted circumstances in which they’ve been placed.

Julia Roberts hits all the right notes as a patient mother who put aside her professional aspirations for her child

Opening November 17 in the US and December 1 in the UK, Lionsgate’s feel-good offering will benefit from the star power of Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson as the boy’s parents. ( Room ’s Jacob Tremblay plays the young man.) Those familiar with R.J. Palacio’s 2012 bestselling novel will likely be on board, but Wonder will need bountiful word of mouth to overcome tepid critical response.

Tremblay plays Auggie who, since he was born, has undergone dozens of surgeries to combat facial differences due to a genetic mutation. His mother Isabel (Roberts) believes strongly that, rather than continuing to be home-schooled, Auggie needs to enrol in his local fifth grade so that he can be exposed to the wider world. Auggie is an intelligent, sweet kid, but he’s fearful that his classmates will ridicule him because of his noticeable scars.

Hollywood has rarely dramatized the challenges confronting young people with facial differences, the most obvious exception being 1985’s Mask . And from its opening reels, Wonder makes no secret of its affectionate, supportive tone, giving Auggie’s story a hint of whimsy as he narrates his harrowing adventures in middle school, where he’ll encounter bullies and be treated as a freakish curiosity. (As a means of escape, the lonely Auggie, a huge Star Wars fan, will imagine that Chewbacca is hanging out with him.)

But director and co-writer Stephen Chbosky (who wrote and directed the big-screen version of his novel The Perks Of Being A Wallflower ) isn’t interested in turning Auggie into a cheap disease-of-the-week gimmick, instead utilizing him as just one character in his film’s treatise on the private pain that many people carry around with them. Wonder ’s grand irony is that, although Auggie’s insecurities are more apparent because of his appearance, he’s far from alone in feeling inadequate; the movie splits off into chapters so that we can learn more about the people around him, each character narrating his or her personal perspective.

Particularly moving is the story of his older sister Via (Izabela Vidovic), who has trained herself to be self-sufficient because she recognizes that her parents need to devote most of their time to Auggie. As a result, however, Via feels invisible and unloved in her own family, never wanting to complain because she knows her brother has a more difficult life than she does.

Wearing makeup that intentionally limits his range of facial expressions, Tremblay occasionally oversells Auggie’s adorable, resilient personality, but Roberts hits all the right notes as a patient mother who put aside her professional aspirations for her child. At the same time, Isabel is no saint, and the Oscar-winning actress brings nuance to the role, revealing how the character’s wonderful rapport with Auggie has caused her to take Via for granted, creating resentment in her daughter. Wilson is more of a peripheral figure as Auggie’s father Nate, but Vidovic perfectly captures the anxieties and sensitivities of a bright teenager trying to navigate friendships and first loves.

Wonder wrings tears at times — Sonia Braga is heartbreaking in a cameo as Via’s grandmother, the only person who really understands her — but the film gets progressively manipulative. The subject matter is inherently emotional, and the film eventually starts piling up increasingly mawkish sequences that feel contrived to elicit precise audience responses. Because of the quality of the performances and the sincerity of the execution, Wonder doesn’t need to artificially stir our emotions, so it’s a shame that Chbosky lets the tone get away from him, badgering viewers with his points rather than simply letting the material speak for itself.

Production companies: Lionsgate, Participant Media, Walden Media, Mandeville Films, TIK Films

US/UK distribution: Lionsgate, www.lionsgate.com

Producers: Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman

Executive producers: Jeff Skoll, Robert Kessel, Michael Beugg, R.J. Palacio, Alexander Young

Screenplay: Stephen Chbosky, Steven Conrad and Jack Thorne, based on the novel by R.J. Palacio

Cinematography: Don Burgess

Production Design: Kalina Ivanov

Editor: Mark Livolsi

Music: Marcelo Zarvos

Website: www.wonder.movie

Main Cast: Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay, Izabela Vidovic, Mandy Patinkin, Daveed Diggs, Sonia Braga

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Wonder Reviews

Between that life lesson of choosing kindness and many invaluable others, the film's buoyant messages are the moving jolt of empathy this generation needs.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 26, 2022

While the film's success has shone an important light on disability, the casting controversies, inability to let Auggie be a real person and inspiration porn messaging verge on insufferable. Wonder desperately wants you to cry. I did not.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 3, 2022

For a picture that begs to be drowned in sentimental syrup, Wonder feels emotionally honest rather than willfully manipulative.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 1, 2021

Wonder shows just how superficial some differences can be and the wonderful things that can happen between people when we get past those differences to get to know each other...

Full Review | Aug 24, 2021

Kudos to Stephen Chbosky for stepping back and allowing Julia Roberts to breathe life into the role of Isabel.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 27, 2020

Take your partner, take your Mum, take your Dad, Grandparent, sibling, whoever; just make sure that to see it with someone that you love.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 30, 2020

Manipulates the tear ducts and the heartstrings with a choking effect with a lack of investment into its supporting characters diluting the inoffensive script of any edgy nuance.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 19, 2020

It knows that kids are aware of the adult world -- or at least how they perceive it -- and how pop culture influences their conversations and actions.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 23, 2020

Sometimes you're simply powerless to resist being emotionally manipulated by truly good film about compassion.

Full Review | May 19, 2020

A conventional story at its core, but one heavy on heart all the same, Wonder utilises its assets and winds up being a far stronger film than one may be expecting

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 15, 2020

You will shed a tear or two, as this inspirational story tugs at all the right heartstrings.

Full Review | Jan 13, 2020

This is a good holiday film for the family.

Full Review | Oct 10, 2019

A faithful adaption of an excellent book delivered with a welcome gentle restraint.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 16, 2019

Wonder is a sentimental family film. While it's not devoid of clichés, these are offset by solid performances and a winsome, uplifting story told with tenderness.

Full Review | Aug 13, 2019

I don't want to say that if you didn't like Wonder, then you don't have a heart. But this is really one of those movies that can cheer anyone's day up.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 5, 2019

The fragmented narrative providing several points of view of the same event helps to approach different sensations. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Aug 5, 2019

This could easily have been a cloying and sappy film, but it is a testament to Chbosky's skill as a director and screenwriter that it isn't.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 4, 2019

Wonder is one of those movies that's supposed to make you cry and feel good, but it lets you get there organically instead of being too heavy-handed.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | May 16, 2019

Charming and eye-opening to how difficult it is for adolescents who are different feel as they go throughout their lives.

Full Review | Original Score: B | May 8, 2019

In the end, the film was just too vanilla with a plucky kid that was more self-absorbed than wonderful.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Mar 6, 2019

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

• DVD & Streaming
• Comedy , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

• November 17, 2017
• Jacob Tremblay as Auggie; Julia Roberts as Isabel; Owen Wilson as Nate; Izabela Vidovic as Via; Mandy Patinkin as Mr. Tushman; Noah Jupe as Jack Will; Bryce Gheisar as Julian; Daveed Diggs as Mr. Browne

Home Release Date

• February 13, 2018
• Stephen Chbosky

Distributor

Movie review.

Space helmets are cool.

In fact, August Pullman (Auggie for short) loves his space helmet. Not only does it help him pretend to be an astronaut—which any 11-year-old who loves science, video games and Star Wars will tell you is awesome —but it also totally covers his face. And on a day like this one, that’s a particularly awesome thing, too.

Auggie’s mom calls him a “wonder.” And he may in fact be one, in a clinical sort of way: It’s taken 27 different surgeries just to help him function like any other kid his age. But Auggie would prefer it if he could simply be labeled as … normal .

You see, Auggie was born with a congenital disorder that caused severe facial disfigurement (among other health problems). So when he walks into a room, well, normal is not the first thing that comes to people’s mind.

Auggie has learned to cope with that unfortunate, sideshow-like public existence. And he’s lived a fairly average life with his parents, Isabel and Nate, and older sis, Via. Until now, though, he’s been homeschooled by his mom. And today it’s time for him to venture out to public school and 5th grade.

Auggie has already toured the school a few days back. Mr. Tushman, the principal, made arrangements for a couple of other kids to show him around the empty facility to give him a feel for the place. The kids were nice about it. But Auggie could tell that one boy, Julian, saw him as a flat-out freak. Julian is one of those kids who will smile and be nice in front of adults, but privately do hurtful things to anybody he doesn’t care for.

He doesn’t care for Auggie.

So, yeah, space helmets are cool. And as Auggie walks with his family toward the Beecher Preparatory School’s front courtyard, he wishes he could keep it on all day. Or maybe just keep walking with the people he loves, those he knows love him.

But he can’t. It’s time to stop, take off his helmet, walk into the school on his own and let the open-mouthed staring begin. It’s time for Auggie to see what “normal” really looks like.

Positive Elements

Mr. Tushman and another teacher named Mr. Browne both try to make school a safe place for Auggie, one where he can have a thoughtful learning experience. Both of them come to Auggie’s aid at times. Mr. Browne repeatedly asks kids to think about their choices, namely who they want to be and become. “Your deeds are your monuments,” he tells a class of kids.

And though those encouragements toward kindness and wise choices don’t always seem to be applied by the student body, eventually we see some kids begin to mature in positive ways. They begin to take notice of others’ behavior, and one by one they cross the self-imposed demarcation line between Auggie and themselves. As they do so, friendships begin to blossom.

The film also takes the time to look at Auggie’s changing world from a variety of perspectives, including that of Auggie’s sister Via; his new friend, Jack; and Via’s estranged friend, Miranda. Eventually it’s dramatically demonstrated that a determined, loving family can not only pull together and see its way through trying times, it can also have a glowing, positive impact on people outside the immediate family.

The Pullmans comfort one another, express their love for each other and verbalize the pride they feel for each family member’s accomplishments. And after gaining friends and acceptance, Auggie declares that many of the friends, family and teachers who surround him also deserve praise and applause—something we can so easily forget to give in our day-to-day lives.

Spiritual Elements

The Pullman family isn’t particularly spiritual, but Isabel does pray aloud, “Dear God, please make them be nice to him,” when dropping Auggie off at school one day.

In the course of finding her bearings in a new school year, Via meets a “theater nerd” named Justin and talks about missing her deceased grandmother, who always supported her. “Your grandmother’s still cheering you on,” Justin assures her.

Sexual Content

Via and Justin eventually kiss. We hear about someone who got divorced and remarried.

Violent Content

We hear that Auggie has endured many painful surgeries just to enable him to eat, breathe and hear properly. When things are difficult at school, Auggie’s dad makes it clear that Auggie should feel free to push back against anyone who tries to hurt him. When playing dodgeball in gym class, all the boys bombard Auggie. “What evil man invented dodgeball?” Auggie wonders.

Early on, Jack tells Julian that if he looked like Auggie, he’d kill himself—a painful comment that Auggie overhears. But later, after realizing how foolish his words were, Jack gets angry at Julian’s continued nasty comments about Auggie’s appearance and punches the other boy in the face. Jack and Julian wrestle and batter each other until a teacher intervenes.

Later still, after Auggie and Jack have mended fences with each other, a couple of older 7th-grade boys begin picking on them. Jack jumps to Auggie’s defense and gets shoved to the ground, hitting his head on a rock. Auggie is pushed and shoved, too. A group of their schoolmates then leap into the fray to even the odds, with multiple kids wrestling and punching each other.

Crude or Profane Language

A bully misuses Jesus’ name once. There are also a few exclamations of “oh my god” and “shut up.” Someone says something “sucks.” Kids call Auggie “ugly” and “a freak.”

When introducing himself to Auggie, Mr. Tushman smilingly talks of all the ways kids have joked about his name: “Tushy, Butt Man, Butt Face—I’ve heard ’em all.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

Auggie’s parents drink wine. His mom jokingly exclaims, “Let’s get drunk!” to her husband after she accomplishes a tough task. Miranda’s divorced and depressed mother drinks wine, seemingly to numb her pain and disappointment about her life.

Other Negative Elements

The Pullmans tell family stories and joke about someone passing gas. A child urinates outdoors (offscreen). Julian bullies Auggie in a variety of ways, sometimes subtly in public and other times quite hurtfully. He draws distorted, ugly pictures of Auggie, calling him “Darth Hideous.” He even suggests that Auggie should “do everyone a favor and die.” Perhaps not surprisingly, Julian’s parents turn out to be rather insensitive people, too.

At first, most of the other kids at school follow Julian’s mean-spirited lead, isolating Auggie and repeating the rumor that his touch will spread a virus. Elsewhere, Auggie lets a struggling Jack copy off his test. Via lies about something. (But later apologizes.)

It’s easy to slap together a sappy pic. Filmmakers do it all the time—jerking forth a tear and creating something that parents can drag their kids to in hopes that positive (albeit a bit cheesy) messages might take hold.

But it’s an altogether different task to create something like Wonder .

*Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson earnestly pour their hearts into this poignant, realistic story about a young son who is different. It stitches together a heartfelt world populated with loving parents, admirable teachers, and kids who believably struggle with who they are and what they need.

Director Stephen Chbosky and his able cast acquitted themselves admirably in telling Auggie’s painful-but-inspiring story. Yes, in the real world, someone like this disfigured boy might well have suffered much more physical and emotional bullying than we actually see onscreen here. But we nevertheless get the point very well: It’s hard to be different, to be anything but normal.

Mr. Browne, one of Auggie’s teachers, points out that “when given the choice between being right and being kind, [kids should] choose [to be] kind.” That thoughtful precept applies to how Chbosky has crafted his film as well, and it’s definitely the primary theme running through this wonder-filled narrative.

The result? Wonder does the hard, empathetic, loving work and lets us wax sappy about it. And that’s a movie-going distinction that Mom and Dad will appreciate.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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Wonder movie review: A wholesome film with timely, powerful messages

Director: Stephen Chbosky

Cast: Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay, Mandy Patinkin, Daveed Diggs and others.

Director Chbosky previously gave us the gem 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower', and this time out he allows us to explore the fragility of friendship and family, and the importance of toughness in an individual. The movie ‘Wonder’ has strong messages about kindness, love, appreciating everyone for who they are and true friendship.

'Wonder' tells a story of a boy named August/ 'Auggie' (Jacob Tremblay), who was born with Treacher Collins syndrome; he has gone through 27 surgeries since birth. After years of home-schooling, Auggie is sent to a regular school by his Mom (Julia Roberts), against Auggie's Dad's (Owen Wilson) wishes. Auggie faces all types of problems that an individual experiences among a group of similar-looking people - being stared/frowned at, being accepted with doubts and suspicions, and also being bullied. However, Auggie is a tough-minded and intelligent person, and finally manages to gain genuine acceptance by most of his schoolmates and other people in the community.

Writer and Director Stephen Chbosky's 'Wonder' is a wonder. His screenplay along with Steve Conrad and Jacob Thorne, based on the book by RJ Palacio is bold and fearlessly compassionate. Instead of maudlin sentimentality, Chbosky brazenly challenges our prejudice of appearances. In one beautiful scene, Auggie, so weary of the frightened looks of others, cries asking his Mom, "Why am I so ugly?"

Multiple character viewpoints of Auggie's classmate and friend Jack, his loving sister Via (Olivia), Via's distant best friend Miranda tells Auggie's story which gives 'Wonder' a level of originality and earnestness. This really helps the viewer connect with the film and makes it work as an engrossing and heartwarming picture. With each viewpoint, every moment of emotion fits like a puzzle and that convincingly flows in every scene.

The actors have done a fantastic job, Jacob Tremblay ('Room', 'The Book of Henry') proves again his talent as an actor. You won't recognize him because of the makeup but his expressions, voice and eyes are really persuasive. All the kids are amazing. Izabela Vidovic as Auggie's sister is especially very good. She beautifully portrays her suffering in the shadows while all the love is shined upon Auggie. Julia Roberts is excellent as Auggie's strong, determined mother and Owen Wilson, although decent, has a limited screen presence. Also, it was bit awkward to see him playing Robert's husband.

'Wonder' would have been an exceptional experience if it had avoided the usual crowd-pleasing cheesiness in the climax. There is also a brief scene about the family dog being put down which has no real connection to the content of the movie. The silly fight between the kids near the end felt out of place and unnecessary. Nevetheless, one could easily overlook these minor hiccups while being on the journey with the very likable characters.

'Wonder' is a simple, heartwarming and overall winsome drama with a lot of heart. It rightly delivers the message of kindness, forgiveness and the importance of self-love, which makes it a wholesome family entertainer.

Latest News

‘Wonder’ is An Inspirational and Uplifting Film

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“Wonder’s” Pullman family plus friend Miranda. From L to R: Owen Wilson as Nate, Julia Roberts as Isabel, Jacob Tremblay as Auggie, Izabela Vidovic as Via and Danielle Rose Russell as Miranda.

A mother and her three-year-old son were waiting in line to buy ice cream at a shop in New York City. The boy noticed a girl with facial birth defects, and the mom, not wanting her son to react badly to seeing the girl, tried to take him out of the situation quickly, but ended up making it worse. Soon thereafter, she heard Natalie Merchant’s song “ Wonder ” playing and was inspired to write a novel about a child with craniofacial syndrome. The author is R. J. Palacio; her book is Wonder .

The book was very successful and was soon a staple of school reading lists. Wonder has now been turned into a full-length feature film by writer/director Stephen Chbosky. He is best known as the author of the coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower and for writing the subsequent screenplay and directing the film. Chbosky also wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film Rent and, with Evan Spiliotopoulos, Disney’s 2017 live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast . He was co-creator, executive producer, and writer of the television series “Jericho,” which aired on CBS from 2006 to 2008.

Wonder is a touching and inspirational film about a young boy, Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), who was born with severe facial deformities and has endured 27 operations on his face over his young life. There is a bulletin board in Auggie’s bedroom, where he displays his hospital wristbands. He has been home-schooled by his doting mother, Isabel (Julia Roberts). Owen Wilson plays his loving (and humorous) father, Nate, while Auggie’s older and oft-neglected sister, Via, short for Olivia, is played by Izabela Vidovic.

Oftentimes while out in public, Auggie wears a NASA space helmet, so he can enjoy things without people staring at his face. The movie starts with the discussion between Isabel and Nate about whether Auggie should start middle school. Isabel is for it, saying that the start of middle school is a good point for Auggie to be mainstreamed. Nate is worried that the expected ridicule and bullying of Auggie will be too much for Auggie to handle.

A Strong Child with Loving Parents

Julia Roberts as Isabel and Jacob Tremblay as her son Auggie.

An emotional early scene, and one not just for parents whose kid is a little different, but for most parents, is when Isabel and Nate look on from the school’s sidewalk as their child wades into the groups of children for his first day of classes. Roberts plays this scene with a strong, quiet emotive force as she looks on with intense hopefulness and concern. Wilson, also concerned, provides good support as a father and husband.

As Auggie walks into the school, kids stare at him and comment about his face. He narrates his walk and says he understands why kids are staring at him, and that he would stare too if in their situation. The kids also send negative expressions and comments in his direction. This is where we see Auggie’s super power: positive messaging and imaging. He imagines that he is doing well and people are supporting him, including his friend Chewbacca from Star Wars .

Auggie usually walks with his head down when at school or among people he’s not familiar with. He says you can learn a lot about people from their shoes, including the Adidas tennis shoes his supportive homeroom teacher, Mr. Browne, wears. Browne is played by Daveed Diggs, who joined the cast just days after finishing his award-winning run in the Broadway play Hamilton . Diggs does well in his first major film role. In the movie, Mr. Browne loves to teach precepts for living, including stressing kindness.

The Power of a Few Good Friends

Auggie with his friends. Elle McKinnon as Charlotte and Noah Jupe as Jack Will.

Unfortunately, the school kids, including Julian (Bryce Gheisar) and Amos (Ty Consiglio), haven’t learned the kindness lessons very well and are continual tormentors of Auggie with both written notes and verbal insults. Many of the students won’t touch him because they think they’ll catch the plague. For a good part of the movie, Auggie endures the taunts and insults, often eating alone at the lunch table. Then he becomes friends with Jack Will (Noah Jupe), whom Chbosky said in an interview with Entertainment Central was a pivotal character. Another early friend is Summer (Millie Davis). Charlotte (Elle McKinnon) is also somewhat supportive when not talking about her burgeoning career as a child actor. All the kids play their parts extremely well. Chbosky said he is very proud of them and that his goal was to put together the best kid cast since Stand by Me .

Auggie enjoys and excels in his science class with Ms. Petosa. Petosa is portrayed with charismatic effect by Ali Liebert. When a two-member class science project is assigned, one of the mean kids tries to sidle up to Auggie as his partner, but Jack Will manages to block him. Auggie and Jack put together a very interesting project; the mean kids’ project does not quite go as planned.

There were some very tough days for Auggie, a few of which saw him not eating or talking much at home. His perceptive parents picked up on this and broke through his barriers to give him more love and support. Tremblay displayed his fine acting talents as Auggie rode a roller coaster of low and high points.

Tender Family Drama

Isabel encourages Auggie after a very tough day.

Some of the most touching dramatic scenes in the film were between Auggie and his mom, Isabel. At a low point, Auggie asks why he has to be so ugly. Isabel answers, “You are not ugly,” and he responds that she has to say that because she’s his mom. Isabel softly replies that she knows him the best, so her words should count the most. Both Tremblay’s and Roberts’s talents add tenderness and believability to these scenes.

A disability or illness doesn’t just affect the afflicted. This was where Wonder went to a higher level of storytelling intelligence. A family is a unit, and when one family member is hurting, it sends ripple effects through the others. Nate at one point breaks down and starts to cry at night while alone in the dining room. Auggie hears him from the top of the steps and goes downstairs to comfort him. Although Wilson is mainly known for his cool guy and comedic roles, he plays Nate with love and humor, adding to the story’s inspirational message.

The movie has various sections that focus on other family members and the cast. These narrated sections provide additional insights into the characters, their lives, and motivations. One breakthrough of the movie, according to Chbosky, is the Via section, which details how she feels overlooked because Auggie is always taking up all of their parent’s attention. Additional pressure is put on Via after her best friend, Miranda, starts giving her the cold shoulder after summer break. Both Vidovic and Danielle Rose Russell, respectively, do an outstanding job with showing the audience who their characters are as they explore the ups and downs of life.

Mr. Tushman (Mandy Patinkin) listens and offers support to Auggie.

Mandy Patinkin plays the headmaster of Beecher Prep Middle School, Mr. Tushman. Tushman tries to put Auggie at ease in a pre-semester visit by telling him all the different ways people have made fun of his name over the years. Tushman is kind and supportive, but can be tough when needed. The headmaster also recruited a few kids in the summer to act as friendly guides for Auggie as he transitioned into the school. This and a few other segments were shown as flashbacks including one of a young Via portrayed by Maccie, Chbosky’s daughter.  Every school should be headed by a Tushman. Patinkin did a splendid job with the role.

Although Wonder can make a person a little weepy-eyed, this reviewer included, it also has some very nice touches of humor in it. We even get a Julia Roberts trademark laugh. Wonder illustrates why we should all be kinder to one another. That although new endeavors can be very rough at times, if we persevere with a positive spirit there can oftentimes be a happy ending.

Closing Credits

Director Stephen Chbosky interacting with young actors on the set of ‘Wonder.’

Entertainment Central was also invited to a screening of Wonder at which Pittsburgh native, Chbosky gave a post-screening talk and answered audience questions. He told the audience about a few “Easter eggs” he put into the movie including that the novel’s author R.J. Palacio sat in the row behind the Pullman family at a school function scene. Chbosky also mentioned that there is an ornament on the family’s Christmas tree that was also on the tree in The Perks of Being a Wallflower . For more about Chbosky, the making of Wonder , and another “Easter egg” see our Stephen Chbosky story . Wonder opens nationwide on Friday, November 17.

‘Wonder’ photos courtesy of Dale Robinette and Lionsgate Films.

Story by Rick Handler, executive producer of Entertainment Central.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Wonder

(Photo by Dale Robinette for Lionsgate Films)

For a student-friendly version of this review: CLICK HERE

WONDER -- 5 STARS

Putting the elementary educator hat on, do remember for a moment your parts of speech.  Colorful adjectives may be the additions to statements that add attention, but the verb is still the action at the center of every sentence that all other words orbit.  It’s amazing when a little change to a verb adds heightened depth to something simple.  The central core lesson of R.J. Palacio’s novel Wonder , which becomes the hashtag of its film adaptation’s marketing campaign, could not better exemplify the nuances possible from verbs.  

LESSON #1: CHOOSE KINDNESS -- The power here is the difference between the verbs “be” and “choose.”  In Palacio’s book, the line is “when given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.” No offense to the recent Cinderella , the statement “be kind” feels like a mere suggestion of desired behavior when compared to thinking, reflecting, and acting with making actual choices rooted in kindness.  The difference of action is a powerful and purposeful one.  Be a bigger person through small acts.

Between that life lesson and many invaluable others, Wonder ’s buoyant messages are the moving jolt of empathy this generation needs.  Even better, its literal and figurative precepts carry an inspiring weight worthy to last many generations more.  Directed by the good hands of fellow award-winning novelist Stephen Chbosky ( The Perks of Being a Wallflower ), Wonder is an instant classic, sure to become a new favorite, for its target audience and a winning (and rare) example of a film taking great care to do justice by the book it is based on.

August “Auggie” Pullman, played by Room breakout star Jacob Tremblay under heavy prosthetics, was born with Treacher Collins syndrome and has endured 27 different surgeries before the age of ten to correct deformities and improve his quality of life.  Underneath the grim visage lies a bright Star Wars nut and science-loving kid that is stepping into fifth grade at a real school after being homeschooled by his devoted mother Isabel (Academy Award winner Julia Roberts).  Praying for the best, Isabel and her husband Nate (Owen Wilson in perpetual “cool dad” mode) have selected upper Manhattan’s Beecher Prep, headed by Mr. Tushman (Mandy Patinkin), as the place for Auggie join and experience a social life with kids his own age.

The looks Auggie receives say it all.  Several of his classmates and potential friends, in the form of the “good egg” Jack Will (Noah Jupe of Suburbicon ), the preening child actress Charlotte (Elle McKinnon), the empathetic Summer (Millie Davis), and the popular spoiled rich kid Julian (Bryce Gheisar), don’t know what to make of Auggie.  Orbiting around our space cadet through the miniature galaxy of classrooms and hallways are his supportive teachers Mr. Browne and Ms. Petosa (original Hamilton cast member and Tony winner Daveed Diggs and Canadian actress Ali Liebert) growing impressed by his academic talents.  Nevertheless, the unsheltered and unpredictable path of Auggie’s school journey sways from fitting in and attempting conversations to cruel fear and outright bullying.

LESSON #2: THE WRONGNESS OF BULLYING IN ITS MANY FORMS -- The superficiality of people that vainly judge others on looks is an immortal allegory.  Uninformed from sympathy, bluntly honest children can be worse than adults in this department.  Bullying is never right and it deserves to be called out and stopped on every occasion.  Tear that hate away and be a valuable friend instead of a worthless bully.  

True to the 2012 source novel, the film adapted by Steve Conrad ( The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ), Jack Thorne ( A Long Way Down ), and Chbosky retains the book’s structure of shifting points of view and narration.  It divides its school year-long story into sections titled for specific characters.  Each episode overlaps a different perspective on previous scenes and then extends the narrative onward.  With this dynamic, Wonder ceases to be a one-kid show and elevates into a wider sample of life and family experiences.  Stephen Chbosky handles those folds with brilliance and sensibility.

This is where Via, Auggie’s high school sister played by Chicago-born actress Izabela Vidovic, shines with her own dramatic arc.  Via has long been the extremely understanding yet marginalized sibling next to Auggie’s bigger needs.  Parallel to her brother’s obstacles, Via is facing her own challenges of trying to find a purpose, having her best friend Miranda (Danielle Rose Russell) veer to a different crowd, falling for a sweet-hearted theater guy named Justin (Nadji Jeter), and mourning the loss of her confidante grandmother (a perfect Sonia Braga cameo).  

One way or another, all culminations and growth lead back to Auggie.  Jacob Tremblay displayed Oscar-worthy talent and enormous emotional range two years ago with his miraculous breakout performance in Room .  His captivating innocence destroyed hardened hearts then and Jacob does it again now with Wonder .  Even under heavy facial prosthetics, Tremblay’s masked smile alone could sell stock for Kleenex.  Add in the warming feels from Julia Roberts’ strength, Owen Wilson’s endearing affability, and Vidovic’s bloom and you might as well bring a whole box to the theater.  

Cynics will try to snipe at this film’s melodrama and call it cinematic syrup.  Let them try.  Artificial syrup sure has its litany of unhealthy ingredients , but Wonder is equivalent to the 100% pure stuff.  Its sweetness runs through the power of its splendid ensemble performances and richly layered storytelling.  Like the first lesson, it all comes down to choices and Wonder gets everything right, from its timely messages and polished tone to its honest and affirming compassion.

LESSON #3: THE DEFINITION OF "WONDER" -- Borrowing from the lede of this website’s review of Wonder Woman , the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the noun form of “wonder” as “a cause of astonishment, the quality of excited admiration, or rapt attention at something awesomely mysterious or new to one’s experience.”  To observe the little guy that began hiding inside an astronaut’s helmet strive and thrive towards self-confidence and accomplishment checks off each one of the three prongs of that definition.  If that's not enough, follow what R.J. Palacio did and listen to Natalie Merchant sing about the word.

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Based on 77 parent reviews

Great messages throughout + unnecessary drunkenness

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It sucked very disappointing, wonder movie review by logan, disappointed and angry, great characters and messages, a must watch, the best most bravest movie ever, disjointed feel good movie.

Irish Film Critic

The Very Best In Entertainment News & Reviews

Movie Review: “Wonder” Masterfully Impresses Children And Adults Alike

[yasr_overall_rating]  

Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

I attended an advance screening of “Wonder” recently and I was very impressed by the crowd’s reaction to this amazing film. I went in not really knowing exactly what it was about, all I knew was that Owen Wilson was in it and Owen Wilson has awesome movies. I had no idea that the film was adapted from a novel and it’s lead character had a disease. “Wonder” was the emotional rollercoaster I needed in my life.

“Wonder” follows the life of August Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) as he adjusts to daily life with his sister Via (Izabela Vidovic) and parents Isabel (Julia Roberts) and Nate Pullman (Owen Wilson). August has been homeschooled for most of his life after having 27 surgeries due to Treacher Collins Syndrome. This disease causes Auggie’s (August) face to look different. His facial difference causes people to stare and leads to Auggie wearing a space helmet. His helmet gives him confidence, but he now must lose his it after finding out he will be attending school with other students. Watching a little kid be confident in front of other kids is like the tear-jerk moment of the year!

The story is great, funny, and witty and I found audience members around me picturing themselves as kids with their children. Everyone was embracing the story and I found this to be amazing. I honestly felt like I was the only person that didn’t know what was going on and that made everything new to me as I found myself getting caught up in the story.

The music was great and screams triumph. The story was amazing, the acting was phenomenal and it ended as a rousing success. Auggie got crushed so many times during the film, but always got back up and continued to fight and I loved that. I like the tale of the underdog and “Wonder” is like watching a children’s version of “Rudy.”

Overall, this movie was amazing, I truly loved it. The children in attendance loved the film and their parents loved it too and I was honestly blown away. I entered the “Wonder” screening not knowing what I was getting myself into and left a happy man. I enjoyed it. This movie is a “Wonder.”

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This was the last movie review Roger Ebert filed. 

Released less than two years after his " The Tree of Life ," an epic that began with the dinosaurs and peered into an uncertain future, Terrence Malick 's "To the Wonder" is a film that contains only a handful of important characters and a few crucial moments in their lives. Although it uses dialogue, it's dreamy and half-heard, and essentially this could be a silent film — silent, except for its mostly melancholy music.

The movie stars Ben Affleck and Olga Kurylenko as a couple who fall deeply, tenderly, transcendently in love in France. Malick opens as they visit Mont St. Michel, the cathedral perched on a spire of rock off the French coast, and moves to the banks of the Seine, but really, its landscape is the terrain is these two bodies, and the worshipful ways in which Neil and Marina approach each other. Snatches of dialogue, laughter, shared thoughts, drift past us. Nothing is punched up for dramatic effect.

Marina, a single mother, decides to move with her little daughter, Tatiana, to America with Neil, and the setting suddenly becomes the flatlands of Oklahoma, a land seen here as nearly unpopulated. Oh, there are people here, but we see few of them and engage with only a handful. Again there is the hushed serenity as in France, but differences grow between them, and there is anger now in some of their words. Neil reconnects with Jane ( Rachel McAdams ), an American girl he was once in love with, and romantic perfection between he and Marina seems to slip away.

In Oklahoma, we meet Father Quintana ( Javier Bardem ), a priest from Europe, whose church is new and brightly lit. We can almost smell the furniture varnish. His faith has been challenged, and many of his statements are directed toward Jesus Christ, as a sort of former lover. Quintana visits prisoners, the ill, the poor and the illiterate, whose dialogue is half-understood even by themselves.

As all of these relationships intertwine, Malick depicts them with deliberate beauty and painterly care. The mood is often similar to the feelings of the early small-town scenes in " The Tree of Life ." Malick has a repertory of fundamental images he draws upon.

We don't need to be told Malick's in an autobiographical vein here; these memories surely belong to the storyteller. In both films, he is absorbed in living and dining rooms, looking out upon neat lawns and neighborhood pastoral peace.

As the film opened, I wondered if I was missing something. As it continued, I realized many films could miss a great deal. Although he uses established stars, Malick employs them in the sense that the French director Robert Bresson intended when he called actors "models." Ben Affleck here isn't the star of " Argo " but a man, often silent, intoxicated by love and then by loss. Bardem, as a priest far from home, made me realize as never before the loneliness of the unmarried clergy. Wandering in his empty church in the middle of the day, he is a forlorn figure, crying out in prayer and need to commune with his Jesus.

A more conventional film would have assigned a plot to these characters and made their motivations more clear. Malick, who is surely one of the most romantic and spiritual of filmmakers, appears almost naked here before his audience, a man not able to conceal the depth of his vision.

"Well," I asked myself, "why not?" Why must a film explain everything? Why must every motivation be spelled out? Aren't many films fundamentally the same film, with only the specifics changed? Aren't many of them telling the same story? Seeking perfection, we see what our dreams and hopes might look like. We realize they come as a gift through no power of our own, and if we lose them, isn't that almost worse than never having had them in the first place?

There will be many who find "To the Wonder" elusive and too effervescent. They'll be dissatisfied by a film that would rather evoke than supply. I understand that, and I think Terrence Malick does, too. But here he has attempted to reach more deeply than that: to reach beneath the surface, and find the soul in need.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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To the Wonder (2013)

Rated R for sexuality/nudity

112 minutes

Ben Affleck as Neil

Olga Kurylenko as Marina

Rachel McAdams as Jane

Javier Bardem as Quintana

Directed by

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Dune: Part Two review – sci-fi sequel is immense, breathtaking wonder

Timothée Chalamet returns to the desert as Denis Villeneuve triumphs again in filming the unfilmable with a colour-saturated blockbuster contemplating zealotry and religious war

I f there’s another blockbuster this year that matches the visual impact of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two , I’ll eat my desert boots. The second Dune instalment is jaw-on-the-floor spectacular. It elegantly weaves together top-tier special effects and arresting cinematography; it layers muscle, sinew and savagery on to the bones of Part One . It’s an inhospitable, brutal kind of beauty that Villeneuve has created – there’s not enough lip balm in the universe to make a visit to the sandblasted wilderness planet of Arrakis look appealing. But this epic action picture, which follows the journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) from a cheeky whippersnapper who’s a bit handy with a sword, to a feared warrior, to the prophesied leader of the Fremen tribe of Arrakis, is realised with a retina-searing intensity.

So how is it that Villeneuve has been able to succeed – and make no mistake, Dune: Part Two is an emphatic success – in adapting a book that was long considered to be unfilmable? The breadth and scope of Dune , Frank Herbert’s 1965 far-future saga of interstellar feudal conflict, proved a daunting prospect to previous prospective film-makers. The generous budget available to Villeneuve’s pictures certainly helps – the lack of funds was the factor that sank Alejandro Jodorowsky’s proposed 14-hour film adaptation of the book in the early 1970s. And studio support is another – while Warner Brothers hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory recently, as anyone who has been following the Coyote vs Acme debacle will know, it has at least given Villeneuve the space and freedom to achieve his creative vision (compare this with David Lynch’s less happy experience with his version of Dune , originally intended to run at three hours, then unceremoniously hacked down by nearly 40 minutes). But a crucial element in Villeneuve’s approach, a creative ethos that gels particularly effectively with the material, is his firm commitment to showing rather than telling.

A chunk of exposition at the very start of the film, delivered as an entry into the “Imperial Diary’’ and narrated by Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), neatly proves how futile it is to attempt to unpick the intricacies of this densely plotted chronicle. In this case, too much dialogue and plot explanation drain the energy from the picture; it’s far more effective to employ Villeneuve’s preferred tactic of exploring the story visually. This technique occasionally misfires, with some of the transitions between vividly created scenes and set pieces feeling a little cursory and disjointed. But on the whole, it does no harm at all to bathe the audience in heady, colour-saturated atmosphere rather than to spoon-feed them with easily digestible gobbets of plot.

Although Paul is the main focus of the story, this instalment allows other characters to come to the fore, most notably Fremen warrior Chani (an impressive, physically committed performance from the always magnetic Zendaya). But a standout in a supporting role is Austin Butler, playing Feyd-Rautha, the psychopathic nephew of Stellan Skarsgård’s levitating despot, Baron Harkonnen. A vast, seat-shuddering spectacle like this movie is no place for subtlety, and Butler evidently got that particular memo. From the moment he tests the calibre of a freshly sharpened blade with his extended tongue, before trying it on the throat of one of his slaves, he is phenomenal. It’s a gleefully over-the-top performance fuelled by malice and channelled through axe-blade cheekbones and a smile that could strip the skin from your face.

Equally impressive and only slightly less disturbing is Rebecca Ferguson, reprising her role of Lady Jessica, Paul’s mother. Driven by her ambition for her son, and twisted by the gruelling ritual that transforms her into the Reverend Mother of the Fremen, Jessica takes on a chilling ruthlessness, something that Ferguson manages to convey almost entirely through an icily inscrutable gaze and a collection of facial tattoos.

The immense, breathtaking visuals and the grandstanding performances are more than matched by Hans Zimmer’s behemoth of a score. There are passages so thunderous, it sounds as though he somehow harnessed the noise of colliding planets in place of percussion. It’s a fittingly ominous accompaniment to a story that lurches away from passionate idealism, truth and romance, and towards political machinations, betrayals, zealotry, the weaponisation of fear and the looming threat of a devastating religious war. There are moments when Dune: Part Two feels uncomfortably timely.

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It's no wonder why 'Zone of Interest' earned 2 Oscars. It showed us the Holocaust like never before.

• The "Zone of Interest" won Academy Awards for best international feature and best sound.
• In his review, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner says the film is the most unusual — and best — film about the Holocaust.
• By never showing the violence, the director Jonathan Glazer creates an unsettling vision of mass murder.

This column by Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, originally appeared in WELT , another Axel Springer publication. A translated version appears below. The views expressed are his own.

My weekend in Cannes was supposed to be carefree: Two days, some rosé in the spring sun on the Croisette, the awards ceremony of the film festival, which awards the globally coveted Palme d'Or.

The movies were also supposed to be as cheerful as my weekend. As cheerful as the first scene of the oddly named film "The Zone of Interest" — based on the novel of the same name by Martin Amis, who died on the day of the film's premiere in Cannes. A picnic by the river. Light green leaves on the bank, silvery flickers the surface of the water. Whooping fills the air. A family outing by bike, children playing and swimming, happy parents. An early summer dream. The Höss family on summer vacation. An abyss.

But that cheerful illusion did not last. The images and sounds from A24's "Zone of Interest," which has earned a little over $24 million at the global box office , have haunted me since that weekend. It is the first film to show precisely how the Holocaust was possible. It is the most unusual — and I believe best — Holocaust film made to date. And I am beginning to understand something I never understood before.

Unlike most Holocaust films, Jonathan Glazer, the director of "The Zone of Interest," tells the story from the perpetrators' — and thus the murderers' — perspective. More precisely, he tells the story of Rudolf Höss, the camp commander of Auschwitz, one of the worst criminals of National Socialism.

'Zone of Interest' perfectly captures a life with no love

Glazer's film takes place in the commandant's villa, which was modern in the '40s: right angles, sober gray plaster. The house (still) stands directly at the wall of the camp. Behind it, the incinerators are smoking nonstop. Behind the wall begins the realm of death, where more than a million people were murdered until the camp was liberated in January 1945.

To make the concrete wall look less brutal and more likable, Hedwig Höss, the commander's wife, planted vines in front of it. The garden was all her pride and joy, her "paradise garden" — lovingly planted with perennials, fruit trees, flowerbeds, vegetable beds, and a square pool with a slide for the children. A perfect world, there, at home, in the villa directly at the wall of the Auschwitz main camp, part of the largest mass-extermination camp of all time. This is where Rudolf and Hedwig Höss lived since 1940 together with their growing family of five children.

In another early scene from the film, it's Rudolf Höss' (Christian Friedel) birthday. His wife (Sandra Hüller) got him a rowing boat. Even this early scene contains the essence of this film. The father of the family is alienated by the emotion of the moment; he puts one of his children in the boat as if it were a photo session for the "Völkischer Beobachter." He and the whole family, uptight and ultimately loveless, pretend to be happy. Pure coldness. It is the absence of love that explains everything.

The couple's bed scenes also struck me in their particularity. The Hösses sleep in one room but separately. Their slippers in front of either single bed. No sex. No love. Rudolf racking his brain before falling asleep. Hedwig so frustrated she's hysterically laughing. The absence of love as a prerequisite for mass murder.

In the film, violence isn't spoken. It's whispered.

Jonathan Glazer produced this film within 50 days, re-creating the Höss home bit by bit. Ten cameras were installed in the house and remotely controlled by the director's team. This allowed the actors to move around it as if it were everyday life.

One day, the "chief incinerator engineer," Kurt Prüfer, and his supervisor, Fritz Sander, from the Topf and Sons company in Erfurt, meet with Höss. They have developed a new technology for crematoria. Twenty-four-hour operation. More efficient than anything before. Höss is enthusiastic. The language is reminiscent of the Wannsee Conference. Cold. Inauthentic. Euphemistic. There are no murdered people. There is only "cargo" that is "loaded."

Shortly after the meeting, the Höss family once again goes swimming in the river. The father is fishing in the water and suddenly has skeleton parts in his hand. And ashes on his skin. A mishap. Everyone quickly goes home to wash the "Jewish dirt" off.

Höss occasionally orders a female camp prisoner to the office for sex. The real-life model for this scene is Höss' relationship with Nora Mattaliano-Hodys, an Auschwitz prisoner who was impregnated by Höss, placed in solitary confinement, and forced to have an abortion. In the film, after coitus, Höss runs through bunker-like corridors to a washroom to cleanse himself of "shame." Anxiously, he rubs his genitals with the disinfected washcloth. A scene of particular disgust.

The provocative thing about this film is its coldness. Sober as a scientist, Glazer observes the events in the "paradise garden" at the gateway to hell. Here, the sunflowers are blooming. There, beyond the wall, the chimneys glow.

One day, Hedwig Höss' mother comes to visit. The daughter proudly shows her around the garden, explaining the plants, lamenting how hard Rudolf has to work every day, and raving about how beautiful life is here. Beaming proudly, she says, "They call me the Queen of Auschwitz."

The blossoms of the flowers in the garden of the Höss family are continuously covered in the gray ash from the crematoria's chimneys. The parents and the children have gotten used to it. They don't know it any other way. At some point, the mother-in-law can't take it anymore and secretly leaves without saying goodbye.

The ideal world in front of the wall to inferno is shaken only when Rudolf Höss is transferred to Berlin. Hedwig does not like this at all. She does not want to give up Auschwitz and her carefree life there. Höss manages to get his family to stay. The house is kept in good order. And Höss himself is ordered back to the camp after barely six months.

'Zone of Interest' created a soundtrack of horror

More important than the images of the film are its sounds. Mica Levi, the composer of the film's score, has written a dystopian melody of apocalypse. The soundtrack creates a horror soundscape that depicts the apocalyptic genocidal exposure of the decent German family. The constant cry of a baby is the primary sound of the family and also the symbol of constant irritation. From beyond the wall, the screams, the barking dogs, the frightened children's voices resound. As well as the blunt, short sound of gunfire, over and over again. While Frau Höss strolls through the flower garden with her mother and smells the sun-eyed shrubs, over there — bang — another one has died.

The genius of the film also lies in the fact that it never shows the horror. We know the images. While we hear the sounds of murder, they form in our imagination. More cruel than any image shown in the cinema before. The violence is repressed, marginalized, and thus made possible. "The Zone of Interest" reminds us of this like a disturbing premonition.

Is there nothing good in Höss' respectable house of horror? Not inside. But outside. At night, a Polish girl steals apples and pears from the Höss garden and secretly distributes them to where the slave laborers have to work the next day. The sequences are filmed using military thermal camera technology — a jarring visual that sets the compassionate act off from the rest of the film. A desperate gesture of humanity in this atrocity. But the shooting and gassing continues. Not in pictures but in the sounds that waft over the wall.

With Höss, everything continues to be cold and uncharitable. The everyday life of the "banality of evil." It is what Hannah Arendt described in her book about the Eichmann trial. "The Zone of Interest" has given this thought its cinematic expression.

In the end, we spectators are too close. We begin to live in the Höss house. We start to become members of the Höss family. At the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, you get the identity card of a Jew when you enter the permanent exhibition. You take the perspective of the victims. In Glazer's film, it's the opposite. One comes disgustingly close to the role of the passive perpetrator.

At the very end, only revulsion remains. Rudolf Höss runs down the stairs of a large building. And starts to vomit. He has to throw up out of disgust with himself. The scenes of his physical revulsion are intercut with modern-day images from the Auschwitz memorial, the cleaners arrive with vacuum cleaners and clean the display cases with the children's shoes. In the camp, the chimneys smoke. In the garden, the flowers are blooming.

Can a film be that cold? It has to. The murderers were even colder.

Disclosure: Axel Springer is Business Insider's parent company.

Watch: Why Greta Gerwig should have been nominated for the best directing Oscar

• Main content

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Is Returning To Cinemas This Year

It's time for an encore

• by Liam Doolan 3d ago

Ahead of the first year anniversary of the highly successful Super Mario Bros. Movie , it's been revealed the film will be making an encore in cinemas.

AMC Theatres has announced the Nintendo and Illumination animation will be returning on 28th June 2024 ( thanks for the heads up, GoNintendo ). So, if you did miss it the first time around and happen to be located near one of these theatres, this is your chance to catch it on the big screen.

When The Super Mario Bros. Movie originally arrived in cinemas last year, we mentioned how it was perhaps everything you might expect it to be - with the sheer amount happening on-screen enough to keep us engaged from start to finish. Of course, if you don't want to watch the movie in cinemas, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now available on disc and streaming services .

Just yesterday, Nintendo released an English guidebook for the movie, sharing all the secrets you might have missed. You can learn more about this in our previous post here on Nintendo Life .

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Would you be interested in watching the Super Mario Bros. Movie in cinemas on return? Leave a comment below.

[source amctheatres.com , via gonintendo.com ]

About Liam Doolan

Liam is a news writer and reviewer for Nintendo Life and Pure Xbox. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of Mario and Master Chief. He's also got a soft spot for Sonic the Hedgehog.

• Author Profile

Comments 54

• Vyacheslav333

I have seen it in cinema once and tried to count all various references. For me, there's no reason to rewatch it. At least, in the same dub. Would be interesting to rewatch it in the JP dub.

No, thanks. ✌️

• jedgamesguy

Martin Scorsese's quaking in his boots at the sheer amount of cinema

@Vyacheslav333

"Would be interesting to rewatch it in the JP dub, however."

that would actually be quite interesting! thanks for the suggestion.

italian also might be kind of interesting! 😀

@-wc- «italian also might be kind of interesting! 😀» Huh. Really. 😄

Tbh I barely want to rewatch it at home let alone in cinema. Its appeal is lost to me after I've seen all the references. I'd rather just play Mario Wonder or Kart for the same duration

"I'd rather just play Mario Wonder or Kart for the same duration"

I feel you, and I'll add that this is especially true for all of Illumination's other films, too. 🫤

I don't know if this is going to be a thing in Europe but I'd love to double dip even if I have it at home. It's a movie made for cinemas.

Also I guess they really want to get passed frozen and incredibles.

• Anti-Matter

Encore on 28 June 2024 ?! 😯 I'm not sure my local cinema XXI will air again Super Mario Bros movie but if they have the encore schedule in my hometown, I will watch again for multiple times. 😊

• somnambulance

Definitely not interested. I thought the movie was solid fun one time . It was fine enough the second time I saw it too, but my kids love the movie, so I’ve probably seen it six times and they’ve seen it more times than that. My wife and I are at a point with the movie where, if the kids want to watch it, they can go in the basement and we are NOT joining them.

It was a fun little fluff movie at first, but it’s grating upon further watchings. For comparison, I don’t feel that way about Mutant Mayhem or the Studio Ghibli films (seriously they have a Ghibli marathon like every two months… if they watch one Miyazaki, they run through them all) or even the Disney films they’ve attached to (though I’d prefer not to watch Finding Nemo/Finding Dory at this point, I can stomach it), but the Mario Movie can stay far, far away from me. Yes, I am surprised I feel this way, but what did I expect from Illumination? I can’t stand any of their other films either.

I just rewatched it at home a few days ago and had a great time with it. Very fun movie to watch as a Mario fan, even if it has its issues. I wouldn't pay to watch it again, though.

Doubt I'll go to the cinema to rewatch it (watched it day one alone and later with my sister and her boyfriend there), but this is a good reminder for me to do so at home in English this time instead of Italian and eventually get the Japanese DVD to rewatch it in that language, too!

@-wc- You saw the movie, right? Doesn’t seem like you were a fan?

It's not streaming here, and if it shows up again in the cinema, I'm sure my daughter would love to see it again. I guess I wouldn't mind seeing it another time a year later, with her, not on my own. But I can imagine that people with a cinema subscription wouldn't mind seeing it again for free in the theatre. In any case, that's a bit an unusual move from Nintendo again. They usually bring back much older films into cinema. Ah well, why not. Trying to maximizing profits is a smart move I guess.

I'm sure there wil be plentty of new families wanting to go.

• Coalescence

Awesome. I've watched it plenty at home with the kids but we missed it in theaters.

Fun movie. This reminds me, that I should get the disk.

It didn't do it for me, frankly. But to be fair, it's so not my kind of thing, it's not even funny. ✌️

@Gamergirl94

Everything you said about it reflects my feelings, exactly. So many uninspired choices in casting and music, and just all over the place.

I don't know how a good mario movie could be made but this wasn't it. No pop songs would be a start. Not illumination, not Seth Rogen, not Chris Pratt, also would be good. As you said. 👍

The amount of older films “returning to cinemas” this year is kinda baffling at this point.

@somnambulance Mutant Mayhem has awful writing. I personally don’t understand the love for that film beyond the art style.

Don’t understand why everyone is suddenly so sour at this film. It was a great simple little time at the theaters that did its thing and established an accurate film version of the Mushroom Kingdom. Not a perfect movie but it’s still enjoyable.

@Gamergirl94 Personally, as an "origin" story I feel Mario and Luigi getting separeted was kind of necessary. Luigi being held prisoner in an unknown land became Mario's driving force to learn to fight and rescue him (and consequently the land, from Bowser). They showed how much the bros mean to each other. If this went with the games' general plot of the Bros rescuing Peach it would have felt a hundred times more forced. Why would two unathletic dudes risk their lives to save a total stranger in a strange world? Nintendo has shown interest in a sequel and that's when I think we will see Mario and Luigi together. Now they know Peach, Bowser and the Mushroom Kingdom. Maybe they will even throw Daisy there

Forget this news. I’m more excited about Paper Mario and Luigi…but $60 is steep (not surprised).

@coolioam I think it's more about nostalgia. I loved the turtles as a kid and "showing" them to my kid in the theatre was really cool. It's just a kids film. It's not bad compared to most kids films, even the latest Disney and Pixar are nonsensical compares to the teenage mutant ninja turtles! I found the art style really strange, took me 15 mins to get used to it XD

Same goes with the Mario film, it's just a kids film, a family film at best. I think if you expect too much of it you can't like it. At least for all the references and getting a "proper" (not a B movie like the other one) Mario film on the big screen, it's an enjoyable 1h30.

So, you're not going to report on the Mario Day video announcing the sequel, Thousand Year Door remake and Luigi's Mansion 2 HD release date?

That’s great for those who like to watch movies in a cinema again. Now what about the sequel announced for April 2026? That’s the real news!

@coolioam It has better writing than the Super Mario Movie, that’s for sure.

@coolioam Suddenly? You implying they weren't sour before? The film received a polarized reception upon release, yet still manage to be a billion dollar hit.

You have more people who enjoy it than dislike it. Even now.

It isn't good enough for Nintendo that their console is about to be come the best-selling of all time; now they're trying to make sure the Mario Movie becomes the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, lol.

@somnambulance Story wise that’s a given because they have so much more to work with, but they made so many changes to the story and characters that ruined a lot of it for me. The “villains” especially. Both movies are two very different cases writing wise. Personally I’d rather have a a story flawed by pacing rather than inaccurate portrayals of established characters.

I'm sure AMC is grateful for the allowance

Does rereleasing it count towards how much it made at the box office? Like if it overcame frozen 2 if you added the amount it’ll make from this would that make it the highest grossing animated film (2nd if you count lion king which shouldn’t count due to being touted as live action)

• HammerGalladeBro

On the one hand, why? I'm not complaining, but wouldn't a better encore date would be closer to the release of the sequel, like in 2025 or something?

On the other hand, let me answer my own question by saying that maybe this year, some kids can finally go and watch it at the cinema as if it first came out. That's my guessing, but I'm sure my soon-to-be 3 years old nephew would like to see it complete this time while eating popcorn.

• AstroTheGamosian

Seen it twice in the theaters, bought the Blu-Ray with a digital copy, so I don't need to go back to the theaters to watch it again.

But I'll be honest, I still prefer the live-action one from 1993. Maybe it's nostalgia talking, but I do feel like the pacing was a bit better. It may not be faithful to the source material, but it did set up an interesting dystopian world. Maybe if it didn't have the Mario label slapped on it, it would have been received much better (like how the 1998 Godzilla movie by TriStar is a good monster flick, but a terrible Godzilla movie).

Does an encore count towards box office figures? And if so, how far behind is it to the current #1 animated movie?

@coolioam The 1980’s cartoon is beloved but they’re inaccurate portrayals of the Mirage comics. Every couple years we get a new adaptation of the Ninja Turtles that is more or less derivative of the 80’s cartoon with character archetypes rather than the original comics in some shape or form. I thought Mutant Mayhem was one of the better iterations so far, even if Bebop and Rocksteady are friends in the end. Who knows what’ll happen in the sequel though?

Also, you could say Mario’s distaste for mushrooms is inconsistent with Mario’s characterization for decades too. I mean, Lou Albano’s Mario enjoyed mushroom and jelly sandwiches.

With these old IPs, they get recycled over and over again for new generations. They start over typically rather than try to have a unified lore.

@Vexx234 I mean as in Nintendo fans. Thought it was pretty universally enjoyed amongst gamers and especially people who would be on this site lol.

seems nintendo wants to get into the top 5 of all time movies sales for a movie even if it if counts twice..

• Tempestryke

I wasn't interested enough to watch it the first time.

@GrailUK depends on what you consider to be anime lion king is a few hundred million in front of mario. some people consider avatar anime movies in a way...

No extras? Not for me. Why not some intro minutes with baby peach, feeding theories about her origins?

• ThatZeldaNerd

I already have the movie, but if it helps Nintendo out, I will be more than happy to help out!!😊

• OldManHermit

It's Morbin time!

@somnambulance Yeah, that's pretty much Illumination movies in a nutshell.

• Chitownguy1221

I have the copy on disc. I plan to watch it again soon. I really enjoyed watching it the first time and loved all the refernces in it.

• playingwithpower86

Saw it in theatres on release, purchased the 4K disc, and I will happily go see it in theatres again. The movie is a delight and I smile from beginning to end. Can't wait!

• Angelic_Lapras_King

Whatever it takes to dethrone Frozen 2.

• The_Blue_Mage

I saw it in theaters and it was great! Not perfect IMO but overall they did an awesome job. I won't be seeing it in theaters again but I am patiently waiting for a sequel. If Geno is even a cameo in the sequel I will lose my marbles

@somnambulance “Starting over” allows for new creativity to seep in. There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy multiple new iterations with the common vision as opposed to being tied down to the same lore.

For example, Mario’s distaste for mushrooms counters Lou Albano’s preference for them, yet it opens up new jokes or stories around it. Yet it didn’t really affect how much he needed it to power up. Popeye hated spinach in the 80’s film adaptation! Another recent example is the twist to the lore and style, while at the same time expanding on it, in Double Dragon Gaiden.

For Pete’s sake, the recent Super Mario Bros. has obscure references to the tv show characters too! So in a sense, the “lore” was expanded. Sometimes, the idea of continuity is more of a detriment.

I already saw it like 3 times in cinemas and have it digitally to watch whenever I want. I don't need to see it in theaters again.

@Magrane Exactly. Theres some things where I like there to be a continuity, some things I don’t. TMNT has stayed fresh for generations because of its reinvention and that’s an awesome thing. Mutant Mayhem is the equivalent to my kids of what the 1980’s TMNT was to me, and honestly I’m cool with that. As someone that’s perused the franchise for decades, I’m happier they got this iteration than some of the other cartoons and especially the Michael Bay version. And by the time my kids grow up, their kids may have a TMNT. These franchises can exist in a truly timeless fashion when they creatively start over time and time again.

@mlt It had already made more at the box office than Froten and Incredibles 2, just not Frozen 2.

• KingBowser1995

Why only AMC Theatres though?

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Oppenheimer Is a Tragedy of Operatic Grandeur

This review was originally published on July 19, 2023. At the 96th Academy Awards, Oppenheimer  won seven Oscars ,  including Best Picture.

Christopher Nolan is drawn to stories about obsessive men , men who are consumed by their callings — space travel, dream stealing, stage magic — even when it comes at a catastrophic cost. J. Robert Oppenheimer is the latest of these men, though in this case his focus is one the world is willing to bend itself around. When Robert, played in Oppenheimer by Cillian Murphy at his most angular, gets appointed as head of the Manhattan Project, he has a whole town built at the remote site so the scientists he recruits won’t have to leave their families behind in order to develop the nuclear bomb. Even the location of Los Alamos, which he selects himself, is dear to him. “When I was a kid, I thought if I could find a way to combine physics and New Mexico, my life would be perfect,” he muses while on one of his trips out there to ride horses through the mountains. Robert has it all for a while, though the price turns out to be so much higher than he could have imagined.

Oppenheimer is a movie so sprawling it’s difficult to contend with. It’s rich, uncompromising, and borderline unwieldy, but more than anything, it’s a tragedy of operatic grandeur despite so many of its scenes consisting of men talking in rooms — conference rooms, Senate chambers, university classrooms, and emptied-out restaurants, all the prosaic places where the fate of the earth gets hashed out. Its scope comes from Murphy’s haunted performance and the way the movie (with help from Ludwig Göransson’s panic attack of a score) submerges you in the mind-set of its protagonist as though it can create a psychic connection to the past. Robert isn’t an easy character to understand; he’s arrogant, blunt, and aloof and possesses an intelligence about the unseen world of physics that makes him seem half-alien. But Nolan doesn’t want Robert to be relatable. He just wants to explore how his flawed humanity co-exists with his genius in what is ultimately a film about moral slippage and how someone who feels so certain of his own clear-eyed ideals finds himself standing in front of a screaming crowd celebrating the deaths of thousands of people in Japan.

The earlier Nolan film that Oppenheimer has the most resonance with isn’t one of those studies of obsessive men but his other work about World War II, Dunkirk . If Dunkirk was about the collective urge that spurs individual acts of heroism and sacrifice in the face of death, Oppenheimer is about how that same force can push people to act against what they believe is right. While it doesn’t go for the same temporal trickery as Dunkirk , Oppenheimer does skip between timelines, hopping between a linear account of Robert’s life from his college days, the 1954 security hearings engineered by a resentful Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr., overplaying the wiliness), and Strauss’s own confirmation hearings for secretary of Commerce in 1959. The latter scenes are shot in a black-and-white that gives them a paradoxical feeling of modernity, as though the feverish days of discovery and unity were in the past, and the future is one for bureaucrats, rather than visionaries.

Beginning with Robert’s time as a rising star on campus and a left-wing dabbler, there’s a constant flow of figures through his life, and rather than streamline them, Nolan allows the names and faces to become a disorienting barrage. It works because Robert himself is the still point in the film’s turning world and because Nolan puts people with distinctive faces in these dozens of smaller roles. Oppenheimer is a testament to the power of casting and how much an actor’s look and presence alone can fill out a character. David Dastmalchian, with his glorious hangdog mug, is Robert’s betrayer, William Borden, while Benny Safdie is memorably abrasive as H-bomb pioneer Edward Teller. David Krumholtz, as physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi, is a standout for providing Robert with tender, down-to-earth counsel, while Jason Clarke preens as the menacing attorney Roger Robb. Josh Hartnett is Robert’s frustrated counterpart Ernest Lawrence, Kenneth Branagh is a jolly Niels Bohr, Rami Malek turns up in a small but key role as David Hill, and James Urbaniak — it would basically be illegal to make this movie without James Urbaniak — shows up in a wordless appearance as a frightened Kurt Gödel.

In a meatier part, Matt Damon is the impatient Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, who has the cat-herding task of managing Robert but ultimately reveals himself to be an ally. There are women in the movie too, though not many. Emily Blunt brings an air of old Hollywood and an impressive bitterness to the part of Robert’s wife, Kitty, a mercurial alcoholic who was with someone else when they first met. As Jean Tatlock, the troubled grad student, psychiatrist, and Communist Party member with whom Robert has an off-and-on romance, Florence Pugh is just playing a dead-wife type in waiting. Nolan has never been great with female characters, but it matters less in a movie that is so much about men making momentous decisions for everyone else while pretending they aren’t bringing their own histories and personal baggage to the table. Lewis, meanwhile, goes from Robert’s alleged admirer to his stealth foe after a petty humiliation, all those grand ideals about the good of the country and the world subsumed in a desire for power and revenge.

Real power is found in those closed-off rooms, not out in the New Mexico desert where the first nuclear weapon was detonated. But when Oppenheimer does show the Trinity test, it’s a feat of monstrous awe, especially in Imax. A vast column of fire casts an unearthly glow on the faces in the audience, like a mirror of the characters onscreen crouched in the dirt clutching plates of welder’s glass to peer through. It’s terrible and splendid, a weapon meant to be so frightening that it would end the use of weapons forever — though, of course, that didn’t happen. Did Robert really believe it would, or had he deluded himself in the moment to justify the thrill of invention? Oppenheimer suggests it was unclear even to him until he’s confronted with the stomping feet of an ecstatic crowd cheering his name. That pounding, which recurs throughout the film, could just as easily be the sound of soldiers marching off to another war — the specter of which, it turns out, can’t be banished, even by the sight of destruction so terrible it leaves its creator forever haunted.

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Ajay Devgn’s Shaitaan to Release on Netflix?

By Shruti Kotiya

Ajay Devgn ‘s highly-anticipated supernatural thriller,  Shaitaan , has begun its box-office run, and the early reviews are mostly positive. This Vikas Bahl directorial is produced by Jio Studios, Ajay Devgn Ffilms, and Panorama Studios. The movie also stars R Madhavan, Jyothika, Janki Bodiwala, and Anngad Raaj. It is a Hindi remake of a Gujarati movie, Vash. Shaitaan premiered on  March 8, 2024 .

Prior to its release, Shaitaan received a U/A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with a few modifications.

Check out its trailer here:

Shaitaan OTT platform revealed

As per reports , Netflix will be Shaitaan’s streaming partner. It is predicted that the movie will be available on the OTT giant about two months after its theatrical run. The official  trailer  for the film premiered on Thursday, February 22, and featured R Madhavan hypnotizing Ajay Devgn’s daughter to extend his unexpected stay at their house.

Shaitaan is the latest horror film in Bollywood to release after nearly a two-year gap. The last horror movie was Kartik Aaryan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. When Ajay Devgn shared his first look, he captioned the post with, “Jab baat apne parivaar par aaye, tab woh har #Shaitaan se lad jaayega.” Later, R Madhavan also took to social media to share his character poster , captioning it with, “Main Hoon Shaitaan.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn)

Speaking at the trailer launch, producer  Kumar Mangat Pathak   revealed  that its part 2 will soon be in the works. He said, “40 din mein shoot hui hai. Part 2 bhi hamaare dimaag mein taiyaar hai. (The shoot was completed in 40 days. Also, part 2 is ready in our mind.”

Furthermore, Madhavan expressed his excitement at the trailer launch. He  shared , “I can not tell you what an amazing experience it has been, especially with a team like this. I never imagined I could push myself to this level that people would get scared.”

Watch Shaitaan in theaters from March 8, 2024.

A MARVEL fanatic who loves to discover new movies and series to binge on. Shruti likes to spend her time consuming new content, spoiling her rescued cat, dancing to Taylor Swift, reading, obsessing over Harry Styles.

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Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas Review (2024)

O n March 4, 2022, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Wonder of the Seas took its maiden voyage, and we were on board to check out all of the action on what was the largest ship in the world (it has since been surpassed by the Icon of the Seas.

This ship, the fifth of the Oasis class ships, can accommodate up to 6,988 passengers and has a gross tonnage of 236,857, with 18 decks. The Wonder of the Seas is gigantic and can keep you and your family occupied for the entire sailing.

Do you want to zip line at sea? Watch high divers jump from the top of the ship into a pool in the aqua theater? Ride a life-sized carousel or sit in Central Park listening to jazz? All of this and much more are available to guests sailing on this brand-new ship.

Our seven-day sailing visited Labadee, Haiti, San Juan Puerto Rico (where we had a great time exploring Old Town San Juan ), Nassau Bahamas, and Perfect Day at CocoCay .

Disclosure: We received a complimentary media sailing on the Wonder of the Seas. All opinions are my own. I’ve also paid my own way on Royal Caribbean in the past and have been on other press trips. This post contains affiliate links and a purchase/click through through one of these links may result in a commission paid to us.

Review of Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas – the World’s Largest Cruise Ship

Check out prices and itineraries on the Wonder of the Seas here .

Neighborhoods on Wonder of the Seas

Like the other Oasis-class ships, Wonder of the Seas has separate neighborhood areas for entertainment and activities. However, this ship now offers an eighth neighborhood. The new Suite Neighborhood, located on the top decks of the ship, is where you’ll find the Royal suite class, as well as a combined area with the suite lounge and Coastal Kitchen (the dedicated restaurant exclusively for suite guests).

A beautiful suite sun deck area offers a bar, sun chairs, as well as an infinity plunge pool with in-water pool loungers. In addition, the suite neighborhood offers the Ultimate Family Suite. This huge suite includes two stories of fun (including game tables, an in-suite slide, and a balcony hot tub) and guests have access to the most luxurious amenities on site.

Other neighborhoods on the Wonder of the Seas include the Boardwalk, offering a full carousel, aqua theater, Sugar Beach candy shop, kids’ shop, Playmakers Sports Bar and Arcade, Johnny Rockets, and Boardwalk Dog House.

Central Park is my favorite area on the ship. This peaceful atrium offers trees and plants, as well as shops and restaurants including Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar, Chops Grille, 150 Central Park, and Park Cafe. There’s also the Rising Tide Bar, which moves up and down from the Royal Promenade to the Central Park neighborhood every 30 minutes.

The Entertainment Place, located on deck 4, is where you will find many of the entertainment venues on the ship. These include Studio B, the Attic, Casino Royal and Card Room, and the Royal Theater.

Traveling with kids? They’ll want to visit the Youth Zone. This area offers a Royal Escape Room (which wasn’t yet open on our sailing) and the Adventure Ocean Kids Club area. Within this space, you’ll find the AO Kids, Babies, and Junior’s spaces, the play space, the workshop, and the AO theater.

The Royal Promenade is the central area of the ship. On the Wonder of the Sea, there are several shops (including the main merchandise shop), Sorrento’s pizza, Boleros, the Bionic Bar, Guest Services, the Voom internet help desk, the shore excursion desk, Spotlight Karaoke, Starbucks, and Cafe Promenade.

Looking to relax or work out on your trip? The Vitality Spa and Fitness Center on the Wonder of the Seas is huge, and also offers the Vitality Cafe with fresh juices and smoothies.

Treatments at the Vitality Spa include salon and nail services as well as massages, spa treatments, a thermal spa, and more. The fitness center is huge with loads of equipment including several Peloton bikes.

The Sports Zone is one of the more impressive areas on the ship. There are so many exciting activities including sports courts (for tennis, basketball, volleyball, and more), ping-pong tables, a zip line, mini golf, the Ultimate Abyss slides, a FlowRider, and the Wonder Playscape (a splash area for younger kids). I also saw quite a few Pickleball players enjoying the courts.

Activities on The Wonder of the Seas

In addition to the activities located in the various neighborhoods on the Wonder of the Seas, there are so many other things to do – even when you are at sea. These include scheduled activities and events, like Captain’s Corner (Q&A with the ship’s captain), karaoke, trivia, game shows, spa seminars, art auctions, casino activities, and Bingo. A listing of these events, including their location and times, is located in the Royal Caribbean app and the daily Cruise Compass.

Laser Tag is offered at scheduled times in the Studio B venue. That venue, home of the ice show, also hosts open ice skating hours throughout the sailing. Ice skates are available to borrow, so you won’t have to worry about packing your own.

There are several pools on the main pool deck. All have in-water loungers. On one of our at-sea days, I enjoyed sitting in one of these loungers as I read a book. There are also several hot tubs and ample seating around the pools – both with and without shade.

During the day, there is so much entertainment, including live bands, DJs, and a giant movie screen. Looking for a treat? Soft-served ice cream is available at Sprinkles, right near the pools.

Want more thrills? Splashaway Bay, a kids’ splash area, is also located on the pool deck and offers small slides and splash zones.

There are also the three thrill waterslides of the Perfect Storm. There are also two climbing walls located one level above the Boardwalk. You also won’t want to miss the Ultimate Abyss – a dry slide that goes from the sports deck down to the Boardwalk.

Those 18+ who are looking to relax will want to visit the Solarium. This area offers plunge pools, whirlpools, lounge chairs, and a bar in a beautifully covered, climate-controlled area. The Solarium was my favorite place to sit and relax during our sailing on the Wonder of the Seas.

Teens will be happy to find dedicated spaces for them to enjoy. These include the Social100 and the Patio private spaces.

Restaurants on the Wonder of the Seas

Like the other Royal Caribbean ships, the Wonder of the Seas offers both complimentary and specialty restaurants with loads of dining options. Complimentary restaurants and cafes are included in your cruise fare, while specialty dining locations are offered at an additional fee.

The Main Dining Room is the standard place to enjoy dinner. There are two separate dining times, in addition to My Time dining, where you can visit at any time in a specific window. Reservations for My Time dining can also be made in the app or in the main dining room.

There’s also the Windjammer Cafe, the buffet on the ship. The Wonder of the Seas offers a huge Windjammer, wrapping around a whole section of the ship.

There are loads of seating, including some quieter tables in the center between the two buffet areas. Currently, there are crew members serving buffet items and getting beverages, although I’m not sure if that will change in the future.

Other complimentary venues include the Park Cafe (sandwiches and salads), Sorrento’s Pizza, Cafe Promenade, El Loco Fresh (fresh Mexican food by the Sports Zone), Solarium Bistro, and Boardwalk Dog House (hot dogs on the Boardwalk).

There are numerous specialty dining locations on the ship. These can either be booked and purchased individually or as part of the Unlimited Dining Package. Make your specialty dining reservations as soon as possible, as these do book up.

New on the Wonder of the Seas is the Mason Jar, offering upscale Southern comfort food. The Mason Jar offers brunch and dinner, and we were able to enjoy a delicious brunch on our sailing. We tried the Red Velvet pancakes and deviled eggs, and they were absolutely delicious.

Don’t miss the drinks – which include a PB&J Old Fashioned, which has a miniature peanut butter and jelly sandwich as a garnish. The Mason Jar bar is open to guests without reservations, so if you can’t get in to eat you may still want to stop by for a drink and to enjoy the band. Light bites are also offered at the bar.

We also enjoyed dinner at Wonderland, an innovative and imaginative restaurant that is also offered on the Odyssey of the Seas . Wonderland is an experience, but the food is also delicious. As you enter the restaurant, you’ll be treated to the gorgeous decor and will be handed a blank menu. Use the included paintbrushes and water to reveal the contents of the menu.

Your server will select your starters, but you’ll be able to choose your main entree. I loved my Branzino entree, and would definitely select it again. If you aren’t an adventurous eater, however, I think I’d recommend trying another restaurant.

As a native New Englander, I was especially excited to try Hooked Seafood. This specialty seafood restaurant offers a raw bar at sea, as well as seafood and shellfish specialties (including lobster). My favorite item was the soft-shelled craft, although the lobster was delicious as well.

Other specialty restaurants on the Wonder of the Seas include Chops Grille, 150 Central Park, Izumi, Playmakers Sports Bar and Arcade (a la carte), Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar (the wine bar offers a la carte appetizers), Johnny Rockets, Sugar Beach, and Starbucks.

Looking for a drink? The ship is filled with small bars both indoors and outdoors.

These include the Lime and Coconut pool bars, the Trellis Bar, Cantina Fresca (new Mexican bar at El Loco Fresh), the Bionic Bar, the Schooner Bar, Rising Tide, Bionic Bar, Wipeout Bar, Cask and Clipper, and the Vue Bar (a brand-new bar outside Solarium offering gorgeous ocean views). Music Hall is another great bar venue offering live music.

Related: Read our review of Allure of the Seas , sister ship to the Wonder.

Amenities on the Wonder of the Sea

This huge ship offers so many fantastic amenities for families. Some are offered free of charge while others are available for an additional fee.

Voom Internet is offered to suite guests at no charge, and to other guests for a daily fee. There are two options – one with standard internet and one with streaming capabilities. On my Royal Caribbean sailings, I have always been impressed with the quality of the internet – especially at sea.

If you want to use the complimentary Royal Caribbean app, you use the internet for anything on the app without having a Voom package. The app is a great way to stay in touch with everything happening on the ship.

You can also see deck plans, make activity/restaurant reservations, and check your account balance through the app. While there used to be a fee for messaging other passengers on your cruise through the app, that is now free.

There are also several shops on board that offer many different items. In addition to Royal Caribbean-themed merchandise, you’ll find watches, handbags, jewelry, perfume, cosmetics, as well as personal essentials. There are also self-service vending machines offering many items that you may have forgotten at home.

Staterooms on the Wonder of the Seas

During our sailing on the Wonder of the Seas, we had an ocean-view balcony stateroom. I found this room to be really comfortable. It has a king bed, a pull-out sofa, lots of storage space, a bathroom with a shower, a large-screen television, a desk, and a refrigerator.

The balcony is large enough for two chairs and a small table and was the perfect spot to enjoy a cup of coffee while watching the ocean.

These staterooms have a combination of shower gel/shampoo. If you’d prefer to have a separate shampoo and a conditioner, I’d recommend bringing them yourself or purchasing them in the vending machines.

Because of the design of the Oasis Class ships, balcony rooms may have views other than the ocean. The Wonder of the Seas also offers balcony staterooms with a Central Park or Boardwalk view. There are also Ocean View rooms with a porthole window and no balcony.

Suites on the Wonder of the Seas include junior suites, grand suites, and the Ultimate Family Suite. I had the opportunity to tour a grand suite.

It offers a balcony, small seating area, bathroom with double sinks and bathtub, king bed, pull-out couch, coffee maker, and more. I enjoyed the Suite Neighborhood – the proximity to Coastal Kitchen, Suite Lounge, and the Suite Sundeck is a huge benefit.

Entertainment on Wonder of the Seas

Like other Royal Caribbean ships, the Wonder of the Seas has some fantastic entertainment options on the schedule. Some of the permanent entertainment wasn’t 100% complete, but we really enjoyed what we saw.

InTENse is an all-female aqua show held in the Aqua Theater along the Boardwalk. It’s high energy and includes slackline performers, high divers, dancers, and so much more. We got a preview of the show and it was fantastic.

There’s also an ice show, held in Studio B in the Entertainment neighborhood. This show celebrates the four seasons and is excellent. I would see it more than once if it was possible.

Later this year, the Wonder of the Seas will debut Effectors 2, a continuation of the show first shown on the Odyssey of the Seas. In the meantime, there are lots of other entertainment options including Tap Factory, magicians, comedians, and musical acts. We missed seeing the show Voices but heard fantastic things about it.

Crew Members on the Wonder of the Seas

While the food, zip line, shops, water slides, pools, carousel, and other amenities/activities are excellent, the crew members are truly what makes the experience special. During our sailing, we were so impressed with every crew member we encountered. They really looked to make our experience exceptional.

Which activity on the Wonder of the Seas would be your favorite?

Considering a family cruise? Check out our guide to family cruising , with posts about popular cruise terminals, cruise ships, and cruise lines, as well as tips for cruising.

The post Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas Review (2024) appeared first on Family Travel Magazine .

He loves " Star Wars " and Minecraft. He has an aptitude for science, a sly sense of humor, and an active imagination that helps him navigate uncomfortable situations. ("Wonder" occasionally dabbles in magical realism, but in ways that are more amusing than distracting.) Advertisement. Uniformly strong performances help ground the story.

Born with facial differences that, up until now, have prevented him from going to a mainstream school, Auggie Pullman becomes the most unlikely of heroes when he enters the local fifth grade. As ...

Our review: Parents say ( 77 ): Kids say ( 199 ): Based on R.J. Palacio's hugely popular, award-winning novel, this drama is earnest and sweet, with great messages about kindness, friendship, and acceptance for its tween target audience. Whether they've read the book or not, kids are sure to appreciate Wonder 's take on how hard it can be to ...

Camera (color, widescreen): Don Burgess. Editor: Mark Livolsi. With: Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Noah Jupe, Nadji Jeter, Daveed Diggs, Mandy Patinkin, Ali Liebert ...

Wonder review - manipulative feelgood drama comes with hefty dollop of treacle. This article is more than 6 years old. ... This movie is based on the bestselling 2012 novel by RJ Palacio ...

Casting issues aside, Wonder is an emotionally powerful film and it's a one-two emotional punch when paired with Disney-Pixar's Coco. Lionsgate opened Wonder in theaters on November 17, 2017.

November 12, 2017 3:00pm. Based on a children's novel that sparked a "Choose Kind" movement — "kind" as in "kindness," or what the world needs now — Wonder brings an upbeat ...

Wonder: Directed by Stephen Chbosky. With Jacob Tremblay, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Julia Roberts. Based on the New York Times bestseller, this movie tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters the fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

With Stephen Chbosky's top-notch direction, a clever and elaborate script by Jack Thorne, Steven Conrad and Chbosky, a beautiful soundtrack by Marcelo Zarvos and Bea Miller, great makeup and amazing performances by Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay and Izabela Vidovic, Wonder can be exciting, a lot of fun and one of the best movies of 2017

NYT Critic's Pick. Directed by Stephen Chbosky. Drama, Family. 1h 53m. By Glenn Kenny. Nov. 16, 2017. "I know I'm not an ordinary 10-year-old kid," says Auggie ( Jacob Tremblay ), the lead ...

Wonder is a sensitive exploration of the many ways people struggle in ordinary life. The movie picks up as Auggie ( Jacob Tremblay) is getting ready to attend school for the first time, a new ...

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Wonder desperately wants you to cry. I did not. Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 3, 2022. Matt Brunson Film Frenzy. For a picture that begs to be drowned in sentimental syrup, Wonder feels ...

Movie Review. Space helmets are cool. In fact, August Pullman ... Wonder does the hard, empathetic, loving work and lets us wax sappy about it. And that's a movie-going distinction that Mom and Dad will appreciate. Elevate family time with our parent-friendly entertainment reviews! The Plugged In Podcast has in-depth conversations on the ...

'Wonder' is based on the 2012 best-selling novel of the same name by RJ Palacio. Writer and Director Stephen Chbosky's 'Wonder' is a wonder. His screenplay along with Steve Conrad and Jacob Thorne ...

Wonder is a touching and inspirational film about a young boy, Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), who was born with severe facial deformities and has endured 27 operations on his face over his young life. There is a bulletin board in Auggie's bedroom, where he displays his hospital wristbands. He has been home-schooled by his doting mother ...

Lelio is less concerned about the practical truths and lies of "The Wonder" than he is about what they mean, what they say about humanity, and how they interrogate what we believe. Pugh plays Lib Wright, an English nurse in the year 1862, a year when the mass famine of the 1840s has left scars across the Irish landscape to which she travels.

The central core lesson of R.J. Palacio's novel Wonder, which becomes the hashtag of its film adaptation's marketing campaign, could not better exemplify the nuances possible from verbs. LESSON #1: CHOOSE KINDNESS-- The power here is the difference between the verbs "be" and "choose.". In Palacio's book, the lineis "when given ...

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August 20, 2020. age 10+. This film features some fighting among kids and depressing moments involving the loss of the main character's dog. Language includes name-calling and insult words ("shut up," "jerk," "freak," and "deformed," as well as "oh my God"). Teens kiss, and adults flirt/exchange mild innuendo (sexy stuff).

The music was great and screams triumph. The story was amazing, the acting was phenomenal and it ended as a rousing success. Auggie got crushed so many times during the film, but always got back up and continued to fight and I loved that. I like the tale of the underdog and "Wonder" is like watching a children's version of "Rudy.".

This was the last movie review Roger Ebert filed.. Released less than two years after his "The Tree of Life," an epic that began with the dinosaurs and peered into an uncertain future, Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder" is a film that contains only a handful of important characters and a few crucial moments in their lives.Although it uses dialogue, it's dreamy and half-heard, and essentially ...

Austin Butler gives a gleefully over-the-top performance channelled through a smile that could strip the skin from your face. A chunk of exposition at the very start of the film, delivered as an ...

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10; somnambulance; 2d ago; Definitely not interested. I thought the movie was solid fun one time.It was fine enough the second time I saw it too, but my kids love the movie, so I've probably ...

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the latest 2D platformer in the Super Mario Bros. franchise developed by Nintendo. Take a look at the latest trailer focused on co-op play whether it be local couch co ...

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Other neighborhoods on the Wonder of the Seas include the Boardwalk, offering a full carousel, aqua theater, Sugar Beach candy shop, kids' shop, Playmakers Sports Bar and Arcade, Johnny Rockets ...

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