Starring Owen Wilson, Julia Roberts, Jacob Tremblay • Rated PG • ‘Wonder’ opened nationwide Nov. 17

The heartwarming movie “Wonder” is based on a New York Times bestseller by R.J. Palacio and tells a story of compassion and acceptance.

August (“Auggie”) Pullman, played by Jacob Tremblay, is a boy born with facial differences that over the years have led him to mostly wear an astronaut helmet to hide his face, be homeschooled and feel that he is not able to fit in with other children his age.

In fact, as the young boy tells viewers in detail when the film opens, he has had 27 surgeries to help him breath, see and hear. To his dissatisfaction, none of the surgeries have given him the ability to blend in with other children his age.

However, that is all about to change.

His mother, played by Julia Roberts, and his father, played by Owen Wilson, are enrolling him in a school so he can begin fifth grade with other kids.

It is at this school that Auggie learns valuable lessons as we watch him on his journey. And it’s not just Auggie that we get to see learning—his classmates and the entire community also learn.

Tremblay does an amazing job as the uncertain fifth-grader who eventually comes into his own, bringing everyone around him with him.

Along the heartwarming journey, there are heartbreaking scenes, including Auggie being bullied, problems with a beloved family pet, and the relationship between Auggie’s sister and her estranged best friend.

Izabela Vidovic does a great job as the sister who loves Auggie and defends him, but who feels invisible inside the family as the focus has always been on her brother.

Both Wilson and Roberts do an excellent job in the roles of the overprotective parents to this unique little boy. In the end, Auggie and those around him teach us all that if we keep a sense of humor we will always be happy.