Spellbound (2002)
Average Rating: 8.2/10
Reviews Counted: 136
Fresh: 133 | Rotten: 3
A suspenseful, gripping documentary that features an engaging cross section of American children.
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 1
A suspenseful, gripping documentary that features an engaging cross section of American children.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 10,663
My Rating
Movie Info
Eight youngsters vie for one of the most hotly contested academic awards in the United States in this documentary. Every spring, the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee attracts students from all over the United States, and filmmaker Jeff Blitz follows eight promising entrants as they journey to Washington, D.C., in hopes of claiming the national championship and a 10,000-dollar prize. Neil Kadakia, from California, has spent months training for the event with the help of his parents, computer
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (145) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (137) | Rotten (3) | DVD (15)
Witty, poignant and suspenseful.
Top CriticSpellbound is not a great piece of filmmaking, but it is more entertaining than you might expect from a story whose heroes are all brainiacs.
Spellbound finds its thrills with nary a chase scene nor a quick cut; it's a simple and utterly gripping story about kids, words and a microphone.
When a child stands at the microphone and frantically writes invisible letters on her hand, we can't help but love each and every one of these people.
A genuinely charming and often funny documentary about the high-pressured world of competitive spelling.
Whatever else it may be, this is also a film about being young, hopeful and focused.
Families should see this m-a-r-v-e-l-o-u-s film.
...an effervescently charming film
It expands as it goes until, by the end, it presents a hopeful overview of American life. It's a wonderful movie.
One of the words that came up in the competition was hellebore - which was ironic, because it was exactly at that point that I realized I was hella bored with this film
A tribute to old-fashioned virtues of hard work, education, competition — and good spelling in a spellchecker age.
"Spellbound" puts you in the middle of the stressful chaos that is the National Spelling Bee.
Has no right to be this insanely involving.
Audience Reviews for Spellbound
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Spellbound yet.
Latest News on Spellbound
April 15, 2013:
20 Essential 21st Century DocumentariesMake some room in your Netflix queue.
July 11, 2012:
Jason Bateman Plans Directorial DebutHe's in talks to helm a spelling bee comedy titled "Bad Words."
August 7, 2008:
Further Reading: Celebrating the Brilliance of The King of KongOne documentary from the US last year spoke to avid videogamers more than any other, and in the...
What's Hot On RT
Every Star Trek movie listed
Star Trek is Certified Fresh
Forest Whitaker serves the White House
Trailer for Tom Hanks thriller
Featured on RT
- Weekly Ketchup: Will Smith to Star in Wild Bunch Remake? 25
- Critics Consensus: Star Trek Into Darkness is Certified Fresh 75
- Red Carpet Roundup: Star Trek Into Darkness Edition 0
- Video Interviews with Katie Aselton & Lake Bell of Black Rock 2
- VIP Access: Eli Roth talks Aftershock 1
- Total Recall: Star Trek Movies 85
- Parental Guidance: Star Trek Into Darkness 18
Top Headlines
-
J.J. Abrams Talks Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars, and More
0
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Begin a New Trilogy
4
-
Mickey Rourke Confirmed for Expendables 3
3
-
Brad Bird Still Mulling Incredibles 2
0
-
Reese Witherspoon, Jena Malone, and Martin Short Join Inherent Vice
0
-
Bruce Willis Makes an Expiration Date
2
-
Drew Pearce Hired for Mission: Impossible 5
0
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Foreign Titles
- Spellbound (2003) (DE)
- Spellbound (2003) (CA)
