When thirteen-year-old Ellie reluctantly agrees to enter a beauty pageant with her best friend Coralee, the director seems determined to feature Ellie and her wheelchair, so she must find a way to participate on her own terms, all while saving her friendship and forming a better relationship with her divorced dad.

When friends Jack, Quint, June, and Dirk realize they read every issue of their favorite comic, Z-Man, the friends decide to write and illustrate their own comic book.