Maleficent

Since the release of Sleeping Beauty in 1959, Maleficent has been recognized as one of the most chilling villain from a roster of Disney films.This year is Maleficent's year as Angelina Jolie tackles one of the most iconic villains of all time. 

The film is a retelling of the Grimm fairy tale Sleeping Beauty with the primary focus on the villain. The original tale did not dwell on the back story of Maleficent and how her evil came into being. With this, the crew has a wide range of stories to be weaved on the character. 

As a fairy, Maleficent is well loved by the creatures around her land which is separated from the kingdoms of men. This magical land is constantly pursued however they fail for each attempt. Everything changed when Maleficent fell in love with a human and was betrayed. All of this led to the events that occurred in Sleeping Beauty with a twist. 

The film, magical as it is, laid flat on some of the scenes particularly on its first few minutes. Director Robert Stromberg somehow was looking for his footing on those first few scenes but managed to get back on his feet when Jolie came into the screen. The Cursing Scene is a definite gem and I was really happy that they took the lines from the 1959 version. 

Oh. I just love my cheek bones.

The magic actually happened from the time that Maleficent became evil and then the events that would change on how you knew the story about Aurora and Maleficent. There were a quite a few changes in this version as compared to the 1959. The fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather were had their names changed to Knotgrass, Thistletwit and Flittle. Alng with their names, the fairies are quite different from their animated counterparts. Aurora's name was not changed to Briar Rose. The list goes on but it was quite justified due to its retelling.

First time director Robert Stromberg is known for his works on Alice in Wonderland, Avatar and Oz, The Great and Powerful as its Special Effects Artist and Designer. His work for Maleficent is not note-worthy if not for the exemplary performance from his cast. The designs are not impeccable compared to his previous works but it will just entail that there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Shh. I'm the executive producer.

Fans of the series, Once Upon A Time, will find the story line to be quite familiar and will not be entirely surprised with how the film has ended. 

I'm actually Dakota's sister. 

For more than 70 years, Disney has placed a standard for all young girls on their concept of true love based from a hundred years worth of literature provided by the Brothers Grimm. Somehow, for the past year, they are trying to redefine this concept following the release of Frozen. Maleficent follows that trend and somehow this is much more realistic than the fairy tales that we used to hear, read and see in movies. Maleficent is well rounded because of the cast's portrayal, but without it, it may have failed in epic proportions.

GRADE: B+

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