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

11 wins & 15 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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Laurence Fishburne and Angela Basset both appeared in Boyz N The Hood (1991).

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Goofs

One of the Spelling Bee words is Pluziosity (with a Z), but the word is spelled Pluviosity (with a V).

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Quotes

Katie Kerwin McCrimmon: [commentating on TV] Several of the kids placed very high in last year's bee, especially Dylan Chiu. He's come in second two years in a row.
Derrick-T: Kick his butt, Akeelah! B-U-T-T, butt!

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Connections

References The Powerpuff Girls (1998)

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Soundtracks

Day by Day
Written by Stephanie Jones (as S. Jones)
Performed by Stephanie Jones
Courtesy of Stephanie Jones

User Reviews

A "One of a Million" Film indeed!

Akeelah and the Bee was a film in which not only inspired me as an individual, but specifically a young Black male individual. Finally, a film in which Black males running around shooting guns and sexing/ mistreating women. A film in which shows a young Black girl coming from an urban neighborhood, raised by a single mother, but still motivated and inspired to use her gift of spelling to the highest degree. During my time watching this film: my emotions were overwhelmed with a sense of positive energy in which inspired me to be motivated to continue doing my best in life: not settling for excuses for where I grew up, the failures I encountered and taking every bit of my negative past to strengthen my positive future. Finally a film where an African American student is demonstrated as brilliant and intelligent!

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Films [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Akeelah and the Bee

Filming Locations:

Berkeley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,011,585, 30 April 2006

Gross USA:

$18,848,430

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,948,425

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