Based on the story of “Sleeping Beauty,” Maleficent begins with the backstory of a young fairy (Isobelle Molloy), who is charged with guarding some very beautiful and pristine enchanted woods. When young Maleficent falls for farmhand Stefan (Michael Higgins), their innocent love is yanked apart by her duty to protect her woods and by Stefan’s political ambitions.
When Stefan betrays Maleficent and strips her of a key power to ensure his rise to King, hell hath no fury like a broken hearted, vengeful sorceress now deliciously played by Angelina Jolie. An older Stefan (Sharlto Copley) and Maleficent wage a battle that ends in a stalemate. When the dust settles, Maleficent crashes the christening of Stefan’s daughter, Aurora and casts an evil spell on her: she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and drift into a near-death slumber until awakened by true love’s kiss. Determined to save his daughter, Stefan destroys all spinning wheels in the kingdom and sequesters her in a wooded cabin to be raised by three little fairies.
Maleficent’s heart softens as she begins to bond with Aurora (Elle Fanning). And we’re led to believe that this relationship might stop the war that seems inevitable between humans and the creatures in Maleficent’s mystical moors. When Maleficent fails to undo Aurora’s deep-sleep spell, the three fairies drag in a young prince to kiss her. But this fails as well. Maleficent tries again, this time entering the King’s heavily guarded castle, only to be surrounded by the King’s men who trap her and nearly destroy her. But all is not lost and Aurora comes to her rescue, giving Maleficent what she needs to prevail.
Helmed by first timer and multi-Oscar-winning visual effects and production designer Robert Stromberg (Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, Oz the Great and Powerful, Life of Pi), Maleficent hits all the right notes in a film of this genre. Adding life to flying fairies, magical plants, and imposing tree warriors calls for lots of CGI to convey a world dominated by the mystical and Medieval.
Created for a mixed adult/teen/child audience, Maleficent walks a fine line to appease a large segment of moviegoers. The messaging is simple: forests and nature’s creature are good, betrayal and worldly ambition are bad, and true love’s kiss need no longer be defined as prince and princess.
The Blu-Ray DVD set comes with an “extras” DVD, which features deleted scenes, some behind the scenes clips, and interviews with some of the actors and crew. These extras are short but interesting, especially if you haven’t seen them in the movie promos.
Alex A. Kecskes is a published author of "Healer a Novel" available on Amazon. He has written hundreds of film reviews and celebrity interviews for a wide variety of online and print outlets. He has covered red carpet premieres and Comic-Con events for major films and independent releases.
