Akeelah and the Bee | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

86% Tomatometer 140 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings

Akeelah, an 11-year-old girl living in South Los Angeles, discovers she has a talent for spelling, which she hopes will take her to the National Spelling Bee. Despite her mother's objections, Akeelah doesn't give up on her goal. She finds help in the form of a mysterious teacher, and along with overwhelming support from her community, Akeelah might just have what it takes to make her dream come true.

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Akeelah and the Bee

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Critics Consensus

A warm, family-friendly underdog story, featuring terrific supporting performances from Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, and Angela Bassett.

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Critics Reviews

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Akeelah and the Bee | Rotten Tomatoes (1) David Ansen Newsweek Akeelah obeys every sports-movie rule, but trading end-zone dances for etymology gives it a geeky innocence. What's the word? Splendiferous. Mar 15, 2018 Full Review Akeelah and the Bee | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Nell Minow Movie Mom Rated: A- Feb 14, 2012 Full Review Akeelah and the Bee | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Peter Bradshaw Guardian Give it an m, i, s, s. Rated: 1/5 Aug 19, 2006 Full Review Akeelah and the Bee | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Akeelah and the Bee becomes one of the most life-affirming, inspiring and entertaining films of the year. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 1, 2020 Full Review Akeelah and the Bee | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: B Oct 3, 2012 Full Review Akeelah and the Bee | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope It isn't just about the competition. It is about heart, dedication, intelligence and the pulling together of a entire community. Rated: A Nov 24, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Blu B A Classic Sports Drama. The acting is excellent from Palmer, Bassett, and Fishburne who give powerhouse performances. The supporting cast is really good and everything else is really well done. It never really feels over the top or melodramatic when it deals with the obsticles Akeelah has to over come which is a testament to how well it's made. The situations she was thrown into like her Mom taking her off stage never felt hammed in but very real. Really the only issues are it is very much by the numbers for a sports drama and you can kind of see the whole thing coming. I do find it a bit cliche to have her and Dylan at the very end going the whole distance but it's so well done and you love the characters so much it doesn't really matter. If Dylan was more symbolic rather than your stereotypical villian that would've proably pushed this into all time great sports movies. Anyone who is a fan of the director, any actors in this, sports movies, dramas, feel good films, or wants to get psyched to spell should check this out. O-U-T...OUT! :) Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/13/24 Full Review Maripaz I i like it . must see if you have a spelling bee Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/10/24 Full Review Audience Member I missed it in theaters. Yet this was Keke Palmer's rise to stardom. Your brain has to be smarter than your body, you can't grow if you're a shrinking violet, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure not being inadequate, we have more than one coach in life to help us along that way, words come from all around us, smaller ones can create bigger ones, love is the feeling where we feel safe and nothing else scares us Keke Palmer's performance is a delight. Laurence Fishburne is great as her spelling coach and Angela Bassett does wonders as her concerned mother. Spelling is hard but learning to spell out everything in your own as a kid in life is just as hard. Even if we have a strong vocabulary we have to exercise everything else at our disposal. Others laugh at our ability but the true concern is how far we can make it on our own. A terrific family flick with a stunning performance by a rising child actress. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/29/23 Full Review shaina a nice story with a happy ending, featuring a hardworking girl named Akeelah, brilliantly played by Keke Palmer. great visuals. some of the characterization of the antagonists fell flat. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/28/22 Full Review Audience Member Very well done movie and great for the family Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/13/22 Full Review Mike P Way overated. This is a well-meaning film, but it's about as stunning as your average After-School Special. Too formulaic. The performances are earnest; but the plot is completely and totally predictable, and the characters never really rise above tv-movie 2 dimensionality; they're just props for this umpteenth variation on Cinderella to play out on. You'd be better off watching the similarly themed Hoop Dreams, Spellbound, Searching For Bobby Fisher, or even A Boy Named Charlie Brown, another coming-of-age story which pivots on an outcast redeeming himself with a town spelling bee. Or, if you want to watch a really stunning coming-of-age story about a young black girl growing up in America try the classic 1997 gothic Eve's Bayou. Those movies are all special, this one's just ordinary. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Doug Atchison Director Laurence Fishburne Dr. Larabee Angela Bassett Tanya Keke Palmer Akeelah Anderson Curtis Armstrong Mr. Welch Tzi Ma Mr. Chiu
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Movie Clips

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Akeelah and the Bee

Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - You'll Be a Champion Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - You'll Be a Champion 1:05 Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - 50,000 Coaches Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - 50,000 Coaches 2:19 Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Our Deepest Fear Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Our Deepest Fear 2:10 Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Spelling Argillaceous Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Spelling Argillaceous 1:51 Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Natural Talent Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Natural Talent 1:57 Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Winning Words Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Winning Words 2:45 Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Big Words Come From Little Words Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Big Words Come From Little Words 2:18 Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Intelligent & Insolent Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Intelligent & Insolent 2:05 Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Altruistic Error Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Altruistic Error 2:15 Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Scrabble Showdown Akeelah and the Bee: Official Clip - Scrabble Showdown 2:14 View more videos

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Akeelah and the Bee

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Synopsis Akeelah, an 11-year-old girl living in South Los Angeles, discovers she has a talent for spelling, which she hopes will take her to the National Spelling Bee. Despite her mother's objections, Akeelah doesn't give up on her goal. She finds help in the form of a mysterious teacher, and along with overwhelming support from her community, Akeelah might just have what it takes to make her dream come true.

Director
Doug Atchison

Producer
Laurence Fishburne, Sidney Ganis, Nancy Hult, Daniel Llewelyn, Michael Romersa

Screenwriter
Doug Atchison

Distributor
Lionsgate Films

Production Co
Sony Television Productions, 2929 Productions, Cinema Gypsy Productions, Lionsgate Films, Out of the Blue... Entertainment, Spelling Bee Productions Inc.

Rating
PG (Some Language)

Genre
Kids & Family, Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 28, 2006, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 16, 2016

Box Office (Gross USA)
$18.8M

Runtime
1h 52m

Sound Mix
Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS

Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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