Disney always has a way of adding an interesting touch to movies as the years have gone by.
Gone are the days where the princess is dependent on the prince and helpless. Recent releases like Tangled, Pixar’s Brave, and Frozen have all shown fans that heroes can come in the most surprising forms.
Sleeping Beauty has a tale that almost everyone knows, but Disney flipped it upside down with Maleficent, a live-action reimagining of the classic Disney animated film.
One of the most neglected parts of Sleeping Beauty was the reasons as to why Maleficent was as evil as she was. Why did she have it out so badly for the king and queen? What was her problem with Aurora? These questions were all answered swiftly in Maleficent.
Viewers are introduced to the title character as a young child, where the audience is shown her growth emotionally and physically. Be prepared to relate to Maleficent on a whole different emotional scale.
Angelina Jolie is spectacular as Maleficent. She portrays the infamous villain with humor, heartbreak and unconditional love. The heavy undertone of feminism throughout the film was incredibly refreshing. Also, Jolie’s makeup and outfits are absolutely flawless.
Elle Fanning is gorgeous as Princess Aurora. Every outfit she wears is beautiful, but as in the original adaptation, she does not contribute much to the film as a character. Fun fact of trivia here: Princess Aurora has the least amount of lines in a film out of any Disney princess.
Newcomer Brenton Thwaites is also a little underwhelming, though still breathtaking, as Prince Charming. It would have been nice to see Aurora and Price Charming connect more as they do in the original film, but maybe that’s just the sucker for romance in me coming out.
After Jolie, the next standout in the film would easily be Sharlto Copley as King Stefan. His acting is always intense and well done, and he further showed that in his portrayal of Stefan. In Sleeping Beauty, virtually nothing is known about the king, so it was refreshing to have some actual backstory as to how he became king.
To bring it all together, the score by James Newton Howard made the film even more special. It helped viewers further relate to every scene. Also, hearing Lana Del Rey’s haunting version of “Once Upon A Dream” at the end was just the cherry on top of a great Disney film.
Maleficent is just another great example of how Disney is continuing to creatively grow more and more. If you even mildly enjoy Disney, go see it. The film is a completely new take on the classic tale and teaches that there is more to Maleficent’s evil than we see on the surface.