Is The ‘Wonder’ Movie Based On A True Story?

“Wonder,” a film out Friday about a boy with facial differences starring Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, is being adapted from a fictional children’s novel of the same name by author R.J. Palacio.

Although based on a fictional story, the book was inspired by true encounter the author had with her family and a young girl with a severe facial deformity, according to a story she told NPR.

Palacio was at an ice cream shop with her kids 10 years ago where they sat next to the young girl, and Palacio’s 3-year-old son began to cry. Instead of using this as a teaching moment, she took her kids and left the shop.

“I was really angry at myself afterwards for the way I had responded,” she told NPR in 2013. “What I should have done is simply turned to the little girl and started up a conversation and shown my kids that there was nothing to be afraid of. But instead what I ended up doing was leaving the scene so quickly that I missed that opportunity to turn the situation into a great teaching moment for my kids.”

Once she was back at her home that night, she couldn’t stop thinking about the day’s event and started to wonder “what it must be like to ... have to face a world every day that doesn't know how to face you back,” which led to her writing “Wonder.”

She started the novel that night, with the lead character, Auggie, jumping right into her mind, clear as day. Five years later, the book was published.

Now, another five years later, the book is about to become a film. This entire experience has made Palacio become an advocate for those born with craniofacial differences, a role which she told NPR she finds to be a “beautiful thing.”

With the release of the film set for Friday, its subject matter has been brought into the spotlight and has allowed for more people to learn about this specific birth abnormality, and to hear about real-life stories.

The Stephen Chbosky-directed “Wonder” debuts in theaters Friday.