Akeelah and the Bee

Despite the objections of her mother (Angela Bassett), 11-year-old Akeelah Anderson enters spelling contests, for which she is tutored by the forthright Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne); her principal (Curtis Armstrong) and her neighbors. Akeelah then competes for a spot in the legendary Scripps National Spelling Bee and in turn unites her neighborhood.