'Akeelah and the Bee' is an entirely predictable inspirational child prodigy movie, which somehow manages to also be u-t-t-e-r-l-y d-e-l-i-g-h-t-f-u-l.

Witten and directed by Doug Atchison, it follows the story of 11-year-old Akeelah (Keke Palmer), an exceptional, but insecure African-American girl from a poor neighbourhood in south LA.

Akeelah's introduction to adolescence has been anything but easy. Faced with a dead father, a hardworking but absent mother (Angela Bassett), a delinquent brother and school bullies, Akeelah skips classes and underperforms intentionally so as not to be labelled a 'brainiac'.

However, one of her teachers notices her impeccable spelling record and suggests that she enter the school spelling bee. Akeelah resists, but when the well-meaning principal (Curtis Armstrong) gives her an unpleasant alternative involving many hours in detention, she relents. Naturally she wins and thus begins her journey to the Scripps Nationals in Washington D.C.

Along the way she brings light back into the life of her taciturn spelling coach ex-UCLA professor Dr Larabee (Laurence Fishburne); catches the attention of her inattentive mother; and brings hope and unity to her community.

Although there is nothing particularly new about this film, it is nevertheless a joy to watch — for the most part because of the fantastic and luminous performance by Keke Palmer. This is enhanced by a solid contribution from Fishburne, who slips easily into the role of the no-nonsense tutor (think Morpheus in a tweed jacket) and the charming performance by young J.R. Villarneal as fellow spelling bee contestant Javier Mendez.

Only the most hardened and cynical of critics will fail to extract some enjoyment from this rousing film. And even they can't deny the educational value of learning a few new (but seldom used) words…