Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

Akeelah and the Bee (2006) is an uplifting, heartfelt drama about an 11-year-old girl from South Los Angeles who discovers her extraordinary gift for spelling and battles family, social, and personal obstacles to compete at the highest level. When Akeelah Anderson reluctantly enters her school spelling bee to avoid punishment, her quick talent propels her into district, regional, and eventually national competitions. With the help of a reluctant mentor, Dr. Joshua Larabee, and a gradually rallying community, she learns not only strategies and vocabulary but confidence, resilience, and how to use words to shape her future. Watching the film you’ll be drawn into Akeelah’s world: the struggle of a single-parent household, the pressures of neighborhood life, and the gulf between her working-class roots and the privileged world of most spelling-bee competitors. The story balances tense, edge-of-your-seat competition scenes with warm, often funny moments of mentorship and community solidarity. Performances bring emotional depth to Akeelah’s relationships—with her grieving mother, skeptical principal, supportive coach, and fierce rivals—making her journey feel personal and universal. The movie is inspiring without being saccharine: it highlights themes of perseverance, mentorship, education, and community pride. Expect to laugh, to root for Akeelah, and to feel moved during quiet, intimate character moments as well as the film’s climactic spelling-bee showdowns. Overall, it’s a feel-good, empowering story about discovering one’s voice and the power of people coming together to lift a young talent to her potential.

Actors: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Keke Palmer

Director: Doug Atchison

Runtime: 112 min

Genres: Drama, Family

5.8 /10 72 /100 7.4 /10 6.8 /10