After putting it off due to lack of time (mostly), I finally managed to go and watch Maleficent, when my 11 years old niece expressed her desire to see the movie as well. I was a little afraid, given that most of the reviews I read online were not so positive… but I have to be honest: I liked it!
There’s not doubt that Angelina Jolie as Maleficent is reason enough to get into that movie theatre! Her portrayal of the “Evil Queen” is magnetic. The special effects are pretty awesome as well, the Moors look great, Diaval’s changes are amazing and anything related to magic looks good… I only disliked the 3 little fairies, when they were little… they looked weird.
I thought the casting was great. Angelina Jolie, as I said, is magnetic, Sam Riley as Diaval was probably my personal favourite though… I LOVED Diaval! Elle Fanning as Aurora… well… she played her well, and it was clear that they went for “a real 16 y.o. girl”, but I don’t see her as Aurora.
About all the changes to the story… I did not mind them. It works if you don’t relate the fairy tale animated movie and this one too much. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Sure, when we were kids we were lead to believe that Maleficent was the epitome of a Disney Villain, doing all those bad things just because she could and that no real reason was behind it. This movie tells a different story, a different Maleficent, who fell in trust and in love with a human, and was betrayed in his search for power. It tells a story about a scorned woman who proclaims herself Queen and vows to destroy her enemy’s life by cursing his daughter. It shows how she becomes attached to the girl, caring for her since the moment she leaves the castle, and how Aurora loves and trusts her too. It also shows what obsession and greed can do to a person, destroying Aurora’s father, and once Maleficent’s love.
All in all, a very entertaining movie. If I would change anything, it would be the intended target audience. It’s clear that this is a more “adult” movie than those that usually come out of Disney, the problem is, the adults remember a very different story, and have been living with it for a very long time… so, it’s probably hard to really get into this plot (which is not bad at all), knowing how it contradicts everything we thought we knew…
Just a little comment about how cute the baby and child Aurora were… the baby totally stole all the scenes, and the child, played by Angelina’s own daughter, was just so darn cute!
My Tiny Obsessions 