Eleven-year-old Akeelah Anderson attends a city middle school in Los Angeles. Despite missing classes, she exceeds in spelling.

The principal, Mr. Welch, recommends that she participate in the Crenshaw Schoolwide Spelling Bee. But she refuses. However, after he threatens her with detention for skipping school, Akeelah agrees to sign up. She even wins.

After that, a visiting English professor named Dr. Larabee gives Akeelah more words to spell. And those words are extra challenging. After she spells all of those words right, Dr. Larabee considers her good enough for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be hosted in Washington D.C.

At some point, Akeelah is invited to Dr. Larabee’s house for coaching. But she comes late and doesn’t have the best attitude. So, Dr. Larabee refuses to coach her, thus causing her to be on her own to practice.

Another spelling bee happens. But Akeelah misspells a word. Another kid spells a word correctly. However, he was caught cheating because his mom helped him from the audience. Therefore, he gets disqualified. So, Akeelah wins again. She also meets this boy, Javier Mendez, who is Mexican, and develops feelings for him.

Later, she is attending school at Woodland Hills Middle School, also in Los Angeles. There is this boy, Dylan Chiu, who has won second place at the past two national spelling bees. He is trying to compete even more, making him not very nice to Akeelah.

Akeelah spells a word incorrectly, making her need a coach. Javier also invites her to his birthday party.

While at the event, the kids play Scrabble. Akeelah almost wins a few rounds—except that Dylan beats her each time.

Unfortunately, Akeelah’s mom does not approve of her going to the Scripps National Spelling Bee because of her missing school. Both she and Akeelah get into an argument. Desperate to join, though, Akeelah forges her deceased father’s signature on the permission slip. Then she takes secret lessons with Dr. Larabee.

The state bee takes place. However, before Akeelah can spell a word, her mother demands that she leave the stage. Akeelah gets in trouble with her mom for going to the bee without her permission. But she gives her a green light to proceed thanks to the advocacy from Mr. Welch and Dr. Larabee.

After that, Akeelah, Dylan, and Javier, win, and therefore, can compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Sometime later, Akeelah’s mom confesses to her why she didn’t want her to compete. That was because she was worried about her losing.

When the Christmas season comes, Dr. Larabee decides to quit being Akeelah’s coach. That is because she reminds him of his niece, who died when she was a bit younger than Akeelah.

Will Akeelah have a chance at competing in the National Spelling Bee?

This movie kept me engaged throughout its entire duration. The pacing was fast, and the level of conflict was just right.

I felt bad for Akeelah many times, especially when her mom was being unfair. I actually supported her for forging her dad’s signature on her permission slip.

But I was impressed with how talented she was when it came to spelling complicated words. Some educational lessons are incorporated into the story. For example, the viewer learns about the origins of words, such as Sol meaning “Sun” in Latin.

All the characters were unique and well-developed. Although Akeelah’s relationships with her mom and Dr. Larabee were not perfect at first, they did improve. I especially admire her relationship with Javier. It felt good seeing a kid be nice to her and supporting her all the way.

One part that I found strange was how Akeelah would meet at Dr. Larabee’s house for coaching when she didn’t know him that well. I thought it would be more appropriate at a public place. But it’s a movie, so I guess that could slip.

Like any good film, this one also had lots of twists and turns. Although I won’t reveal most of them, I will advise to any parent reading this that even though the movie is rated PG, it’s got a few swear words. But they don’t really detract from the story. Still, I’d recommend that a child be, at least, 8, to see this movie, and be mature for their age.

Overall, I enjoyed Akeelah and the Bee. It is definitely worth watching thanks to the strong pacing, conflict, characterization, and educational aspects.

I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars.