20 movies like Akeelah and the Bee, ordered by similarity : Song for a Raggy Boy(2003), Lady Bird(2017), How to Eat Fried Worms(2006), Caterina Goes to Town(2003), Real Women Have Curves(2002), Mia and the White Lion(2018), Children of Heaven(1997), Bridge to Terabithia(2007), American Wrestler: The Wizard(2016), How She Move(2007), The Class(2008), Madeline(1998) ...
Kids & Family, Drama
USA
2006
112 Minutes
Laurence Fishburne Angela Bassett Keke Palmer Curtis Armstrong Tzi Ma Lee Thompson Young Dalia Phillips Craig Wasson J.R. Villarreal Sean Michael Sara Niemietz
young girl teacher bully principal single mother inspiring emotional los angeles school washington, d.c. inner city airplane friendship family birthdays competition education rivalry rise 2000s
A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee.
Drama
Ireland|UK|Denmark|Spain
2003
98 Minutes
Aidan Quinn Iain Glen Marc Warren Dudley Sutton Alan Devlin Stuart Graham John Travers Chris Newman
school principal schoolboy schoolteacher prefect irishman teacher friend rival bully intense sad emotional endearing ireland school teaching school abuse sadism courage
The true story of a single teacher's courage to stand up against an untouchable prefect's sadistic disciplinary regime and other abuse in a Catholic Reformatory and Industrial School in 1939 Ireland.
Comedy, Drama
USA
2017
94 Minutes
Saoirse Ronan Laurie Metcalf Timothée Chalamet Lucas Hedges Tracy Letts Odeya Rush Jake McDorman Beanie Feldstein Lois Smith Stephen McKinley Henderson Jordan Rodrigues
mother daughter teenager high-school student best friend teacher father moving uplifting playful california high school catholic school sacramento, calif. family home university united states prom mother/daughter relationship coming of age
In 2002, an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.
Adventure, Kids & Family, Comedy, Drama
USA
2006
84 Minutes
Tom Cavanagh Kimberly Williams-Paisley Luke Benward Hallie Kate Eisenberg Philip Bolden Adam Hicks Nick Krause Ryan Malgarini Austin Rogers James Rebhorn Ty Panitz
schoolboy schoolgirl bully nerd teacher winsome offbeat endearing school playground classroom neighborhood eating worms bet coming of age childhood growing up rivalry underdog 2000s
During the first day of his new school year, a fifth grade boy squares off against a bully and winds up accepting a dare that could change the balance of power within the class.
Comedy, Drama
Italy
2003
106 Minutes
Alice Teghil Sergio Castellitto Margherita Buy Carolina Iaquaniello Federica Sbrenna Claudio Amendola Galatea Ranzi Flavio Bucci Antonio Carnevale Paola Tiziana Cruciani Silvio Vannucci
teacher father mother young girl friend government official engaging spirited witty touching small town rome high school shopping mall cemetery rally father/daughter relationship new school friendship politics
Caterina, forced to leave her small town at the age of thirteen, faces the complications of living in the big metropoly of Rome.
Comedy, Drama
USA
2002
93 Minutes
America Ferrera Lupe Ontiveros Ingrid Oliu George Lopez Brian Sites Jorge Cervera Jr. Felipe de Alba Soledad St. Hilaire Lourdes Perez Jose Gerardo Zamora Jr. Manuel Edgar Lujan
student seamstress teacher grandmother mother latina inspiring moving los angeles workshop house high school education self-esteem virginity tradition family dysfunction race relations discovery growing up
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
Kids & Family, Adventure, Drama
France|Germany|South Africa|Switzerland|Monaco|USA
2018
98 Minutes
Mélanie Laurent Daniah De Villiers Langley Kirkwood Ryan Mac Lennan Brandon Auret Lillian Dube Lionel Newton Tessa Jubber
girl lion lion tamer father mother inspiring passionate charming positive emotional tense south africa farm wilderness wildlife preserve plains human-animal friendship secret dangerous information journey
A young girl from London moves to Africa with her parents where she befriends a lion cub.
Drama
1997
88 Minutes
Reza Naji Amir Farrokh Hashemian Bahare Seddiqi Fereshte Sarabandi Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi Kamal Mir Karimi Behzad Rafiee Dariush Mokhtari Moahammad-Hasan Hosseinian Masume Dair Kambiz Peykarnegar
young boy young girl father mother schoolgirl teacher emotional touching tehran, iran school market street family home poverty education family growing up quest 1990s
Two fearful children (Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi) look for a pair of missing shoes, then try to get another pair before their parents discover the loss.
Kids & Family, Fantasy, Drama
USA
2007
96 Minutes
Josh Hutcherson AnnaSophia Robb Zooey Deschanel Robert Patrick Lauren Clinton Katrina Cerio Bailee Madison Devon Wood Cameron Wakefield Elliott Lawless Isabelle Rose Kircher
teenager friend bully outcast creative touching school museum bus clubhouse friendship death family dysfunction loneliness imagination growing up rescue 2000s
A preteen's life turns upside down when he befriends the new girl in school and they imagine a whole new fantasy world to escape reality.
Drama
USA
2016
117 Minutes
Jon Voight William Fichtner Lia Marie Johnson George Kosturos Kevin G. Schmidt Gabriel Basso Shannon Collis Courtney Hope Turner Nicholas Guilak
high-school student wrestler hero school principal team member coach emotional engaging heartwarming inspiring moving touching small town california high school gym school bus wrestling new school new town
In 1980, a teenage boy escapes the unrest in Iran only to face more hostility in America, due to the hostage crisis. Determined to fit in, he joins the school's floundering wrestling team.
Drama
Canada|USA|France
2007
98 Minutes
Rutina Wesley Tré Armstrong Dwain Murphy Brennan Gademans Clé Bennett Kevin Duhaney Shawn Desman Tristan D. Lalla Daniel Morrison Romina D'Urgo
student dancer rival friend inspiring heartwarming high school household inner city dance death drugs family competition rivalry underdog 2000s
Following her sister's death from drug addiction, a high school student is forced to leave her private school to return to her old, crime-filled neighborhood where she re-kindles an unlikely passion for the competitive world of step dancing.
Drama
France
2008
129 Minutes
François Bégaudeau Esmeralda Ouertani Rachel Regulier Franck Keita Wei Huang Agame Malembo-Emene Angélica Sancio Arthur Fogel
principal teacher student parent school principal engaging gripping profound spirited inspiring powerful school paris classroom playground education ethnic tension french language and literature connections leadership
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
Comedy, Kids & Family, Drama
France|USA
1998
90 Minutes
Frances McDormand Nigel Hawthorne Hatty Jones Ben Daniels Arturo Venegas Stéphane Audran Katia Caballero Chantal Neuwirth Kristian de la Osa
schoolgirl headmistress kidnapper lord schoolboy orphan cheeky charming lighthearted paris boarding school school abduction friendship sabotage love underdog rescue rivalry 1950s
Horrified at the prospect of her beloved school being sold, a young French girl uses her wit and craftiness to attempt to save it, making an unlikely new friend in the process.
Kids & Family, Drama
USA
1995
97 Minutes
Eleanor Bron Liam Cunningham Liesel Matthews Rusty Schwimmer Arthur Malet Vanessa Lee Chester Errol Sitahal Heather DeLoach Taylor Fry
daughter father headmistress endearing fascinating emotional new york city boarding school friendship world war i school family growing up rescue 1910s
A young girl is relegated to servitude at a boarding school when her father goes missing and is presumed dead.
Kids & Family, Drama
USA
2007
93 Minutes
Don Johnson Kay Panabaker Lori Loughlin Sasha Cohen James Best Whitney Sloan
teen girl mother horse owner classmate heartwarming engaging ranch stable school family home horsemanship dreams family overcoming the odds coming of age competition underdog discovery growing up 2000s
The curiously named, Moondance Alexander is a spirited teen living with her eccentric mother. She is faced with another uneventful summer until she discovers a lost pinto pony named ... See full summary »
Drama
USA
2004
132 Minutes
Clint Eastwood Hilary Swank Morgan Freeman Anthony Mackie Jay Baruchel Mike Colter Lucia Rijker Margo Martindale Riki Lindhome Brian F. O'Byrne Michael Peña
boxer trainer friend mother emotional moving spirited los angeles boxing ring gym boxing friendship aspirations sports love discovery underdog rise rivalry 2000s
A determined woman works with a hardened boxing trainer to become a professional.
Comedy, Kids & Family
USA
1996
93 Minutes
Mara Wilson Danny DeVito Rhea Perlman Embeth Davidtz Pam Ferris Paul Reubens Tracey Walter Brian Levinson Kira Spencer Hesser Kiami Davael
young girl father mother headmistress teacher friend winsome witty school family home telekinesis children vs. adults student-teacher relationship family dysfunction underdog adventure discovery 1990s
This film adaptation of a Roald Dahl work tells the story of Matilda Wormwood, a gifted girl forced to put up with a crude, distant father and mother.
Drama
USA
2006
106 Minutes
Ryan Gosling Shareeka Epps Anthony Mackie Deborah Rush Jay O. Sanders Nicole Vicius Denis O'Hare Monique Gabriela Curnen Starla Benford Tina Holmes Karen Chilton
teacher co-worker student drug addict friend emotional dark middle school brooklyn, n.y. bar locker room drug addiction friendship education dysfunction family discovery fall 2000s
An inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.
Kids & Family, Drama
USA
1943
89 Minutes
Roddy McDowall Preston Foster Rita Johnson James Bell Jeff Corey Diana Hale Arthur Loft Jimmy Aubrey
boy father mother horse emotional touching farm barn school wyoming education responsibility family father/son relationship underdog growing up metamorphosis 1940s
Ken McLaughlin struggles to please his family in any way. He comes back from boarding school boasting poor grades and facing going through the fifth grade again, much to his fathers dismay.... See full summary »
Drama
USA
2017
100 Minutes
Quinn Shephard Nadia Alexander Trieste Kelly Dunn Marcia DeBonis Tessa Albertson Sarah Mezzanotte Owen Campbell Luke Slattery Tate Donovan Chris Messina
student teacher teenager bully young woman lover brooding powerful raw shocking high school united states classroom forbidden love unlikely romance bullying rivalry student-teacher relationship high school crush love
A drama teacher's taboo relationship with an unstable student strikes a nerve in her jealous classmate, sparking a vengeful chain of events within their suburban high school that draws parallels to 'The Crucible'.
Kids & Family, Drama
Canada
2016
88 Minutes
Katharine Isabelle Jonathan Whitesell Robin Dunne Fred Ewanuick Sarah Desjardins Farrah Aviva Michael J. Lai
girl orphan robotic dog dog talking dog uncle mayor rival pet pet owner amusing lighthearted playful emotional endearing small town united states dog new life loss
Isabel Sullivan, who's fifteen, has just moved to a small town to live with her Uncle Paul, who is the town's Mayor. Isabel has recently lost her parents in a car accident. Feeling very ... See full summary »