Spellbound (2002)

Spellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee.

Director:

Jeffrey Blitz

Stars:

Angela Arenivar, Ubaldo Arenivar, Jorge Arenivar

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Angela Arenivar	...	Herself - Spelling Bee Participant
Ubaldo Arenivar	...	Himself - Angela's Father (as Ubaldo)
Jorge Arenivar	...	Himself - Angela's Brother (as Jorge)
Scott McGarraugh	...	Himself - Ranch Owner (as Mr. McGarraugh)
Lindy McGarraugh	...	Herself - Ranch Owner (as Mrs. McGarraugh)
Concepción Arenivar	...	Herself - Angela's Mother (as Concepción)
Mrs. Slaughter	...	Herself - Angela's Teacher
Neelima Marupudi	...	Herself - Potter County Champion (as Neelima)
Nupur Lala	...	Herself - Spelling Bee Participant
Ms. Whitehurst	...	Herself - Nupur's Teacher
Parag Lala	...	Himself - Nupur's Father (as Parag)
Meena Lala	...	Herself - Nupur's Mother (as Meena)
Kuna Lala	...	Himself - Nupur's Brother (as Kuna)
Ted Brigham	...	Himself - Spelling Bee Participant
Ms. Blair	...	Herself - Tes's Teacher

Storyline

This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C. All work quite hard and practice daily, first having to win their regional championship before they can move on. Interviews include the parents and teachers who are working with them. The competitors not only work hard to get to the finals but face tremendous pressure as the original group of over 250 competitors is whittled down and the words they must spell get ever more difficult.

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Plot Keywords:

spelling | immigrant | national spelling bee | teacher | spelling bee | 

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Taglines:

Little kids. Big words. American dreams.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

10 October 2003 (UK)

Also Known As:

Agonisma orthografias

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£57,735 (UK) (10 October 2003)

Gross:

$5,728,431 (USA) (5 December 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blitz/Welch

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 95 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

While interviewing Harry in his room the boom mic is deliberately shown after Harry asks "Is that thing edible?"

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Quotes

Ted's Mom: I think Ted's got the advantage of parents, who think he's great irregardless.

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to The Blitz Family, The Arenivar Family, The Brigham Family, The DeGideo Family, The Kadakia Family, The Lala Family, The Lieberman Family, The Natarajian Family, The Pagels Family, The Stagg Family, The Stoecker Family, The Thampy Family, The White Family, Linda Loeffler & Family and all the participants of The National Spelling Bee.

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Connections

References All in the Family (1971)

User Reviews

Jon Monsarrat review: flawless

Spellbound is a surprisingly moving film, because it is not really about spelling, but about hopes and dreams. There's a lot of love in the film, and it's interesting how different families have different approaches... all the way from hands-off parents to parents hiring drill coaches. The film does a good job of showing the backgrounds of the kids and presenting their personalities. I found myself trying to spell right along with them (unsuccessfully).

Spelling bees promote the worst kind of rote learning, especially when the kids are faced with words they will never use in real life. That's thousands of hours either totally wasted or to be less critical, hours that could have been put to better use, for example, learning creative writing or public speaking. Even so, as one parent says, this is practice to form a habit of perseverance for the future.

The pacing and music were perfect, the way the challenge was presented was clear and straightforward. Excellent film.

Who should see this film:

-- Kids of all ages

-- Everyone else. It's not at all boring.

I'll give Spellbound a perfect 10 out of 10.