Disney Movie Review: Maleficent


NOTE: May contain spoilers. Read at your own risk

Maleficent is a live action film starring Angelina Jolie as Maleficent in a re-imagining story of Sleeping Beauty but this time focuses on Maleficent herself. There are some points in the movie that makes it stand out from the original Sleeping Beauty tale (both source and the 1959 Walt Disney Animated Classic). As its explained in the official synopsis of the movie, Maleficent suffers a horrible betrayal that causes her to lose her wings in the beginning of the movie that causes her to get revenge on the current ruler of the human kingdom King Stephan.

Setting: Unlike the 1959 animated film, there lies another kingdom simply called the "Moors" which is the home of many mythical creatures and doesn't have an established ruler and this is where Maleficent lives. This replaces Maleficents lair in this movie. The "Moors" is beautiful and looks great in IMAX 3D which is what I watched the movie in.

Characters: Even with this being a re-told tale, half of the main characters don't see much change but others have different roles to play to benefit the story. Maleficent herself isn't the main antagonist as she is in the Disney classic and the role of antagonist is taken over by King Stephan. Maleficent's raven also gets a bigger role while still being her sidekick. The 3 good fairies only get name changes but also get a wardrobe change to reflect their residency in the "Moors". I like the idea of changing or expanding the roles of some characters in a movie like this as it gives them new life (Tim Burtons Alice in Wonderland is an example)

Story: The story of the film incorporates elements of the original tale while having its own story. This is how Maleficent departs from being a primary antagonist in this adaption. The story starts off slowly in order for the audience to get into the movie like most Disney stories do. Frozen didn't start off exactly slowly as there was no prologue that explained Elsa's powers. The prologue here explains how Maleficent lost her wings and caused her to be evil and ultimately, redemption.

Music: James Newton Howard is one of my favorite composers for movies and has done a handful of Disney and Pixar movies. His music strikes again as one of the strong points of the movie.

Some Negatives: Not every movie is perfect and there are some weak points in the movie. Maleficent's look when she regained her wings in the movie made her look too modern in my opinion but that was the cause of repeated attempts at her life that chipped away her outfit. The Queen in the movie had a much smaller role than she did in the 1959 movie and ended up dying in this movie without seeing her daughter. The King also should've learned to forgive than to continue his lust for revenge and ambition as it lead to his death. This results in Aurora to be without her parents at the end of this movie. Prince Phillip also should've had a role at the final conflict as should the 3 good fairies.

Final Conclusion: The movie is exactly what I knew it would be: A good movie with a story re-told from a different point of view and a new storyline. While it won't be a highly successful movie for Disney (most live-action movies by Disney don't fare well), it'll hold its own in the box office in its own right and will be loved by fans of Sleeping Beauty and fans of Maleficent. And Angelina Jolie did a great job at being Maleficent.

4/5 Stars

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