Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee.

Director:

Doug Atchison

Writer:

Doug Atchison

Stars:

Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Keke Palmer

12 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keke Palmer	...	Akeelah
Laurence Fishburne	...	Dr. Larabee
Angela Bassett	...	Tanya
Curtis Armstrong	...	Mr. Welch
J.R. Villarreal	...	Javier (as JR Villarreal)
Sean Michael Afable	...	Dylan
Sahara Ware	...	Georgia (as Sahara Garey)
Lee Thompson Young	...	Devon
Julito McCullum	...	Terrence
Erica Hubbard	...	Kiana
Eddie Steeples	...	Derrick-T
Dalia Phillips	...	Ms. Cross
Tzi Ma	...	Mr. Chiu
Jeris Poindexter	...	Steve (as Jeris Lee Poindexter)
Sara Niemietz	...	Polly

Storyline

Eleven year-old Akeelah Anderson's life is not easy: her father is dead, her mom ignores her, her brother runs with the local gangbangers. She's smart, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school's principal, Akeelah participates in a spelling bee to avoid detention for her many absences. Much to her surprise and embarrassment, she wins. Her principal asks her to seek coaching from an English professor named Dr. Larabee for the more prestigious regional bee. As the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee looms, Akeelah could provide her community with someone to rally around and be proud of -- but only if she can overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life. She also must get past Dr. Larabee's demons, and a field of more experienced and privileged fellow spellers.

---

Plot Keywords:

spelling | spelling bee | national spelling bee | principal | school principal | 

---

Taglines:

Changing the world... one word at a time.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Films [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Akeelah ist die Größte

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$6,011,585 (USA) (28 April 2006)

Gross:

$18,811,135 (USA) (14 July 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Out of the Blue... Entertainment, Reactor Films, Cinema Gypsy Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Among the spelling words in the film are: prestidigitation, ambidextrous, pterodactyl, pulchritude, pastiche, xanthosis, cabalistic, soliterraneous, grandiloquent, catastasis, endentulous, quinquevir, bioluminescent, objugatory, kookaburra, effervescible, quiddity, pyrophanous, mountebank, numismatics, arboriculture, argillaceous, serpiginous, and logorrhea.

---

Goofs

When Akeelah and her friends in Woodland Hills spell "euphoric" and "psoriasis", they tell her that she should study Latin. However, both of these words come from Greek.

---

Quotes

Terrence: Man, that's a white word if I ever heard one. It's a trick. Stop playing!

---

Connections

Referenced in The Boondocks: Pause (2010)

---

Soundtracks

Wake Up Everybody
(1975)
Written by Victor Carstarphen (as Victor Leon Carstarphen), Gene McFadden and John Whitehead
Performed by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (as Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes)
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Great story for the entire family!

Just saw a packed screening at the Pan African Film Festival. There were so many people there that some had to be turned away. The best parts were the interactions between the characters of Akeelah and Javier, a young Mexican boy who comes from an affluent family. Their friendship and team work in helping each other do their best in the Spelling Bee is a great example for young black and browns here in Los Angeles, especially with all the racial fighting in the schools and prisons.

It's a good movie for everyone to see, especially if you're a word freak like me.