Akeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee con... Read allAkeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.Akeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.
- Awards
- 11 wins & 15 nominations
- Javier
- (as JR Villarreal)
- Georgia
- (as Sahara Garey)
- Steve
- (as Jeris Lee Poindexter)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe final word spelled by Dylan is logorrhea. This is the winning word from the documentary Spellbound (2002) which tracks several participants in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in 1999.
- GoofsThe plaque on the wall in Dr. Larabee's office, which he makes Akeelah read, wrongly attributes the quote to Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural speech. This is a common mistake, but Nelson Mandela has never used that quote in any of his published speeches. The quote is from Marianne Williamson an American spiritual activist.
- Quotes
Akeelah: [quoting Marianne Williamson] Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
Dr. Larabee: Does that mean anything to you?
Akeelah: I don't know.
Dr. Larabee: It's written in plain English. What does it mean?
Akeelah: That I'm not supposed to be afraid?
Dr. Larabee: Afraid of what?
Akeelah: Afraid of... me?
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Colbert Report: Frank Rich (2006)
- SoundtracksEl indio y el vaquero
Written by Xocoyotzin Herrera
Performed by Francisco Javier González & José Zuñiga
Courtesy of LMS Records/Latin Music Specialists
I went to the movies with my friends for her birthday, expecting little about the bee at all and more about a love relationship between Akeelah and her newfound friend, Javier. Surprisingly enough, very little of the content was anything to do with romance, and thank goodness.
The acting, oh my goodness. It was wonderful. Especially Keke Palmer's performance. Her face told the story, really. Facial acting was wonderful, no doubt. Keke's performance perfectly matches up to her being as good as young Dakota Fanning, without her having to bawl out crying in any scenes. And the rest of the cast was great, too. The ending is very sweet, but I certainly won't spoil it for anyone.
Overall, a very inspirational movie. 10/10
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- A som i Akeelah
- Filming locations
- Berkeley, California, USA(Crenshaw Middle School)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $8,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $18,848,430
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,011,585
- Apr 30, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $18,948,425
- Runtime1 hour 52 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1