On May 30, 2014 the movie Maleficent released in theaters in North America and on November 4th the dvd was released in stores.. The movie rated PG tells the real truth behind Sleeping Beauty with a cast features Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie. It was the 3rd highest grossing movie in 2014 by bringing in $757 million worldwide.
Angelina Jolie, most known for Girl, Interrupted and Kung Fu Panda, plays Maleficent in this retelling of the classic fairy tale. She was one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 2000. Jolie started studying acting when she was 11 at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute but go her first big break in 1999 with her leading role in the movie The Bone Collector.
In Disney’s original 1959 film of Sleeping Beauty was released it portrayed Maleficent to be stone cold villain who does evil for no good reason never really telling the reason why for all the chaos. There are a lot of differences between the two of the movies. Like in the original Disney cartoon Maleficent’s servant is just a boring old black bird. Yes, Maleficent has a bird in the newer version of the story but, he is able to shift into other animals including a man (who is played by Sam Riley) with Maleficent’s power.
The actress the producers casted to act as Aurora (Elle Fanning) fit great for this role with her naturally sweet hearted personality and face. I thought is was sort of odd how Aurora knew that Maleficent was watching her throughout her childhood but never said anything about it to her godparents. If I saw a mysterious lady in all black watching me as I frolic in the gardens I would scream to my family in fright.
We know what Maleficent does at Princess Aurora’s christening but it was never known why she did it. Maleficent was a fairy that protected the Moors, an enchanted forest. She falls in love with King Stefan; they were friends since they were young but the only reason he became king was because he betrayed Maleficent and cut off her wings. That’s why she became evil and that’s why she put a curse upon Stephan’s daughter Aurora.
Maleficent as a child.
The magical scenery that fills this movie is the best part about this fairy tale. The animation put into the movie makes you believe that such a magical place is actually real. If it looked any different the entire movie would fall apart. The movie definitely show that every little detail was put into consideration.
This movie was able to bring out some emotions from me which rarely happens. The part where Maleficent gets her wings taken away from her tears will come from the brims of your eyes. The sadness, despair and violation are very noticeable in the eyes of Jolie.
I didn’t like the character that played child Maleficent; she looked nothing like the older version of Maleficent. The director should have had the make-up artist make her cheekbones more defined as they would look in the future. Also, child Maleficent’s wings seemed a lighter color than the elder Maleficent’s wings; they seemed blacker.
The plot in general was just perfect. It helps people understand that not everyone is fully evil and there is a reason to everything. If it wasn’t for this movie you would think Maleficent is just another unreasonable villain when she’s really not, she’s more than that.
