This documentary follows eight kids as they compete in the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee aiming to be in the finals taking place in Washington, D.C.

By 1999, the competition had garnered some popular interest as it gets broadcast on ESPN.

There are so many human emotions in these awkward sincere kids. It is beyond charming.

There are more unpredictable turns than anything from Hollywood. The Washington rounds are more thrilling than any CGI-filled fights. This is a true life drama of an innocent American tradition.

This documentary follows several regional winners through the national spelling bee. The film makers don't talk but simply allow you to hear from the winners and their families.

Not long after I began watching this documentary, I couldn't help but feel I've seen it before. That's because the film seems to have perhaps been the inspiration for the fictional film AKEELAH AND THE BEE--as many of the same types of kids and families are repeated. In particular, Akeelah and her mom seem very similar to the champion from the District of Columbia and the hard-driving Indian-American family seems so much like the hard-driving family in the documentary. Perhaps these parallels were unconscious, but it just seemed a lot like someone decided to re-write and fictionalize this film from 2002. Now this isn't bad, as both are very interesting films and they end very, very differently.

However, I've got to admit that this film probably has a much smaller audience than AKEELAH, as many folks just won't find SPELLBOUND that interesting--after all, the overall theme is kids spelling! Still, I liked it and found myself pulled into some of the stories and found it to be an interesting sociological and psychological portrait. In particular, I found the one child very interesting from a psychological point of view, as he seemed to have many of the characteristics of a child with Asperger's syndrome. Plus, it was also very interesting that most of the finalists appeared to be of Indian or Pakistani heritage.

Overall, mildly interesting and worth seeing but not one of the truly great documentaries. And, if I could only see one film, I'd recommend AKEELAH. Even though it's all fantasy, it is more interesting and high-stress than real life!

No its not the Hitchcock film, its an interesting documentary film about the pressures, kids, preparation and events of a national spelling bee in America. Basically it shows the stories of six kids: Angela Arenivar, Ted Brigham, April DeGideo, Neil Kadakia, Nupur Lala, Emily Stagg, Ashley White and the hyperactive Harry Altman, who is pulling the face on the poster. It shows why they study, why they like to spell and their journey to the stage to win the spelling trophy. Their family, teachers and friends are obviously behind all of them determined that they could win. Obviously one of the nicest female kids won the trophy. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Documentary, Features. It was number 32 on The 50 Greatest Documentaries. Very good!