2014: HOT OR NOT?

Maleficent

Maleficent 

Film 

Maleficent is a 2014 American Disney  film starring Angelina Jolie as the Disney villainess character called Maleficent. The film is a re-make of Walt Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty from Maleficent’s point of view.  The film was released in the UK on May 28th and has produced over $716 million worldwide. It is the third highest-grossing 2014 film (behind Transformers: Age of Extinction and X-Men: Days of Future Past), and the 15th film by Disney to pass the $700 million mark at the worldwide box office.

If you haven’t seen the film, I’d suggest you don’t read the next 390 words or so because I’ve included a description of the plot. A fairy called Maleficent falls in love with a human called King Stefan when they were both young.  Stefan stops seeing her as he gets older as his thoughts turn to power in the kingdom.  Stefan hears the current king’s offer of the throne to whoever kills Maleficent as she is guarding the moors. He drugs her and then takes her wings to proof to the king her ‘death’.  Sometime later, Maleficent’s loyal servant Diaval tells Maleficent that King Stefan is hosting a christening for his daughter Aurora.  She turns up uninvited cursing the new-born that on her sixteenth she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, which will cause her to fall into a death-like sleep only lifted by true love’s kiss. Terrified, Stefan sends Aurora to live with three pixies until her sixteenth birthday whilst all spinning wheels in the kingdom are destroyed. Maleficent watches Aurora from afar and takes care for her when the neglectful pixies fail to do so.  Maleficent attempts to take away the curse when she grows fond of Aurora but can’t. Aurora meets Prince Phillip giving an opportunity to build a relationship.  On the day before Aurora's 16th birthday, Maleficent, hoping to avoid the curse, allows the girl to move to the Moors, far away from any spindles. The pixies, however, tell Aurora as she's moving out about her parents and Maleficent. She runs away to her father who locks her away. Aurora is drawn into the curse in the dungeon where there is a spinning wheel. After Aurora pricks her finger, Maleficent abducts and places Philip in Stefan’s castle to kiss Aurora to break the curse but the kiss has no effect. Maleficent kisses Aurora on the forehead causing Aurora to awaken.  Aurora forgives Maleficent and they try to flee the castle but Maleficent is trapped and attacked. Maleficent transforms Diaval into a dragon to lift the net but she is trapped by the soldiers. Stefan beats and taunts her but before he can kill her, her wings are freed from his chamber by Aurora which fly back to Maleficent and reattach to her. She then overpowers Stefan but can’t bring himself to kill him. He attempts to kill her once more but falls to his death. Aurora is crowned queen of the human and fairy realms unifying forever the two kingdoms. 

There has been criticism to the film. Firstly, the fact that when Maleficent appears in King Stefan’s castle, nobody seemed to have any anger towards him even though he lied to the previous King and said that Maleficent was dead. Secondly, there is criticism that Aurora doesn’t care about her father’s death. That is a point but she has been separated from the man for sixteen years; she barely knows him so there isn’t a strong emotional attachment. Thirdly, Maleficent’s powers have come under scrutiny when it is known she is so powerful she could curse Aurora and and turn her servant Diaval into anything but she can’t make herself a new pair of wings or transform herself into a flying being. 

 About a month after release, I watched the film by myself with snacks at my side. I was looking forward to seeing the film because it was using actors and actresses not animation. I was also intrigued when Disney said that it wasn’t the story that you knew. I loved the idea of the film coming from Maleficent’s point of view. It isn’t very often that the protagonist of a film is a villain, especially for Disney films. Usually it’s the young girl who is the protagonist who experiences a man ‘sweeping her off her feet’ and then wanting to spend the rest of her life with him after only knowing for a short period of time. Sometimes I am glad my life isn’t a fairy-tale Disney movie.  I have never considered the film coming from Maleficent’s point of view because of this exact reason. I mean think about it. I expect like me when you watched the Disney 1959 sleeping beauty movie you were so wrapped up in wanting Prince Philip to rescue Aurora from the curse and marry her with Maleficent just being the person who sparked all the hatred of keeping them apart but which they overcame. She was left out the main idea; the love story. I think of her in that film as ‘the person painted in the background of the art painting so small, only an inch in height’.  Now thanks to this new movie she is the gold thick frame which encloses the painting and keeps everything together. It’s the first thing everyone sees and no matter how much they focus on the painting, the gold frame will attract them from the corner of the eye.  I liked the idea of a misunderstood character. Angelina Jolie definitely did the character justice for me. I personally can’t fault her performance, only her powers as I have mentioned but that is not down to Jolie. I will always remember seeing her red lips pout at the awkwardness of not being invited but how she slightly caught me off guard by suddenly stretching her mouth into a teethy smile. How I felt slightly unsettled by seeing that smile but I think that is was the point. To make us feel like one of the people present at Aurora’s christening and feeling shocked at her presence.  Two of my friends watched the film (one of them being DoctorStarkHolmes) and said they did not like the portrayal of Aurora. I found this interesting because I liked how she was portrayed as this innocent and bubbly young girl. I couldn’t find fault with her. I couldn’t find fault with how any of the actors portrayed there characters. 

So far Maleficent has only been nominated for awards but has not won anything. I hope it does win an award but even if it doesn’t at least it has been considered by being nominated for awards. 

Do I love it, like it, dislike it, hate or undecided... 

For me I’m like it. I loved the original idea of the evil protagonist and not using animation like many of the Disney films. However, I think they should have slightly analysed the plot more in detail, especially Maleficent’s powers. Perhaps Maleficent’s powers could have been strongest when she had her wings because they were magical meaning she has weak powers? Then again, this means she wouldn’t be able to curse Aurora because she was so powerful when doing so… oh I don’t know! 

So, how did you like my third topic Maleficent? What do you think; hot or not? Vote!