About Maleficent

Maleficent is a 2014 live-action re-imagining of Walt Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty. The film tells the story from the perspective of the antagonist, Maleficent, portraying her complex relationship with the princess soon to be Sleeping Beauty.

Plot and Summary

It begins with Maleficent's joyful young life as an innocent and carefree fairy in the forest kingdom until an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. This traumatic experience gradually turns her pure heart into one of stone. As a fierce protector of her land, she cruelly places an irrevocable curse on the human king’s newly born infant, Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom - and perhaps to Maleficent's true happiness as well.

Making / Production

Directed by Robert Stromberg from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton, the film was an undertaking of Walt Disney Pictures. Special care was taken to create an elaborate setting to depict both the serene land of the Moors and the human kingdom. Stunning VFX and costumes were used to complete the theatrical effect.

Actors

• Angelina Jolie as Maleficent who brilliantly brought to life the rage and sorrow of the wronged fairy.
• Elle Fanning played the cheerful and kind Aurora, highlighting the innocence of her character.
• Sharlto Copley portrayed King Stefan, whose ambitious and treacherous nature was accurately depicted.

Trivia / Interesting Facts

• This was Angelina Jolie's first live-action film in almost four years.
• In an interview, Angelina Jolie admitted that she scared kids while in costume on the set, but her own daughter, Vivienne, played young Aurora, because she wasn't scared of her mother.
• The film’s story was inspired by both Walt Disney's animated classic Sleeping Beauty and the fairy tale it was based upon.

Awards

The film won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design.

Quotes

• "I had wings once, and they were strong. But they were stolen from me." - Maleficent
• "There is evil in this world, and I cannot keep you from it." - Maleficent

Music

• The film’s score was composed by James Newton Howard, creating an enchanting and thrilling soundscape.
• Lana Del Rey, known for her unique, melancholy tone, performed a haunting rendition of "Once Upon a Dream" for the film's end credits.