Maleficent

In Disney’s latest venture into the world of fairy-tale Angelina Jolie takes on the role of Maleficent. Exploring the back story of one of Disney’s most infamous villains, the film follows Maleficent’s innocent life as a beautiful young woman and her transformation into the malicious fairy we know from Sleeping Beauty.

Two kingdoms sit side by side: one the realm of humans and the other the realm of magical beings, known as the Moors. Contact between the two sides is strictly forbidden, but on the border of the Moors Maleficent meets Stefan and the two young orphans strike up an unlikely friendship that continues into their teenage years. Maleficent finds herself falling in love with her best friend but Stefan eventually betrays her to further his own ambition of becoming King. Heartbroken and furious, Maleficent crowns herself the dark Queen of the Moors and vows vengeance on Stefan.

The narrative of Maleficent crosses over with the original Sleeping Beauty narrative, but this time the story is told from the perspective of the antagonist. Following their recent trend of modernising the concept of the fairy-tale, Disney manages to avoid the cliché of giving their audience another simplistic good vs. evil dichotomy. Evil is very much present on both sides and the depiction of Maleficent in this film is far more complex than that of the 1959 Disney classic. It is Angelina Jolie’s performance that really stands out, especially visually. The costume design remains largely true to the original animated Maleficent, but takes on an entirely new intimidating and darker presence in this live action version. Overall, Disney succeeds once again on the modern fairy-tale front and no matter what age you are, you’re never too old for a Disney film.

Jess Walker