literature

Maleficent

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If there’s any kind of antagonist I like in fiction, it’s one who’s a badass.

I mean, it’s one thing for an antagonist to be chillingly evil, to the point they make your skin crawl. There are also villains who are so over the top it’s impossible to take them seriously, and if done right, can provide humor. And then you have your villains who are so stereotypical it’s uninteresting.

But I’m a guy who loves well-written antagonists, and sometimes, they’re so cool they’re more intersting than the main cast. For example, the character Kisame Hoshigaki in Naruto. I love Kisame; he is pure badass. Which is kind of ironic, because when I was a kid, I was terrified of sharks. Other antagonists I like include Ryuk from Death Note (I know L is the real antagonist, but at least he’s sort of good; Ryuk gets to be on the list here, ‘cause I said so), Ulquiorra from Bleach, Sir Crocodile from One Piece, Beelzebumon from Digimon Tamers (I know he turned good later; I consider him awesome either way), heck even Mewtwo was pretty cool in the first Pokemon movie, before he almost killed Ash…

Wow, I’m going off topic here. XD But anyway, if there’s any Disney villain I think is cool, it would definitely be Maleficent. I’m not sure what it is about Maleficent - maybe it’s her badass design, maybe it’s her powers, maybe it’s her iconic dragon form - but something about her has always appealed to me. That’s not to say she’s the only cool villain - others include Hades, Chernabog, et cetera - but she’s probably the most famous antagonist. So when I heard she’d be getting her own movie, I was intrigued. After seeing the movie, here are my thoughts. Be warned, this review contains massive spoilers. If you haven’t seen the movie, stop reading now.

First off, Angelina Jolie is spot-on in the role. The only major difference appearance-wise is that she doesn’t wear make up, but let’s face it, that can’t be too comfortable to wear. I was reading that Disney executives had wanted to capitalize on the fact that it’s, you know, Angelina Jolie when promoting the movie, but she insisted on adhering to the character’s menacing look. If that’s true, then she’s done good. She’s also completely believable, and mark my words, you will find yourself sympathizing with Maleficent.

The movie is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, from the villain’s perspective, a la the Broadway musical Wicked. As anyone who knows me is aware, I love that musical…but that’s another story. Anywho, since it’s from Maleficent’s point of view, there are of course differences from the original story. These include the following:

King Stefan is the arch-villain. A lot of fans weren’t pleased with Maleficent being a protagonistic figure in this adaptation, and King Stefan being the antagonist - but I digress. The reason Maleficent hates King Stefan so much, and why she curses Aurora, is that they were previously good friends, but political disagreements between the human and fairy kingdoms essentially forced them to part. A cliché when it comes to writing, yes, but clichés are not always necessarily bad, and I consider this to be such a case. Years before the movie’s main story, in order to become king, young Stefan betrays Maleficent and steals her wings; he’s supposed to kill Maleficent, but can’t bring himself to do it, instead drugging her and using said wings to convince the king that she’s dead. Cruel as this sounds, get this - in the earlier drafts, he was even darker. When Maleficent awakens to discover this, her reaction of horror resonates strongly with the viewer. It also gives her an understandable reason for turning evil, rather than the original where she was just, well, a cruel fairy. Which brings me to the next major difference.


Rather than cursing Aurora to die, Maleficent instead sets the curse so that she will fall into an eternal sleep, from which only true love’s kiss can awaken her. Listen carefully to Maleficent’s words when cursing Aurora, for these prove to very important: all on Earth will love the child, and no power on Earth can revoke the curse. After this, Aurora is raised by the three fairies, but their portrayal is quite different from the classic; in addition to their names being changed, the fairies are lazy and neglectful as child minders, rather than the caring, occasionally comical fairies they were in the original.

While all this is going on, Maleficent watches over Aurora, and actually grows to feel a motherly love for her. No, she doesn’t just randomly find Aurora during the cursed year - Maleficent actually rescues Aurora a few times, when the three fairies’ ignorance would have resulted in her death. At a rather heartwrenching moment, Maleficent tries to revoke the curse, but due to specifications made earlier, even her own power can’t undo it. So yes, the sixteenth birthday does come, and Aurora does prick her finger, falling unconscious. Not long prior to this, she meets Prince Phillip, and he saves her, right…?

Actually, no. You see, Maleficent had previously stated that while all on Earth will love Aurora, only true love’s kiss can break the curse. Prince Phillip has just met Aurora, so any love he’d feel for her would just be a crush; it’s not possible for true love to exist that quickly. Compare that with Maleficent, who has been acting as Aurora’s guardian angel…which situation do you think would generate a greater love? Prince Phillip’s reaction when asked to kiss Aurora is quite funny, but this humor quickly dissolves when it doesn’t work, and Maleficent is left thinking Aurora, the girl she loves like a daughter, can’t be saved. I bet you can guess what happens from here, but it’s not as creepy as you’d think - it’s just a kiss to the forehead. And that is what wakes Aurora up, leading to the final confrontation.

Which probably contains the biggest difference from the Disney classic - the dragon. Yes, her iconic alternate form does appear, but this time, Maleficent isn’t the one to become the dragon - her raven is. Since I forgot to mention that earlier, her raven is also given a human form, and he’s named as Diaval, rather than Diablo. Oh, and he can transform into whatever Maleficent says - therefore, when Maleficent is trapped under an iron net, she makes “into dragon!” actually sound cool. A lot of people dislike this change from the original, but in all good honesty, I don’t mind it - just makes the scene that bit more cool when Aurora restores Maleficent’s wings to her. After the final confrontation, King Stefan dies, and the kingdoms reconcile, with the movie ending in a call back to its beginning.

With all that said, most of these changes, I quite like. For example, the element of true love not existing after only a short period of knowing each other - that’s something Disney has only recently started to address. Another part I’m fond of is the nods to classic fairy tales, such as fairies having a weakness to iron, and the movie’s visuals are truly breathtaking, especially early on, when we see Maleficent as a child. Other enjoyable parts include the occasional dry bickering between Maleficent and Diaval, and the young Aurora. I’ve read that Elle Fanning, who plays her, actually watched the Disney classic to get the character’s mannerisms down pat, and Fanning has definitely succeeded.

All in all, I’m left enjoying the movie a lot. Not as wonderful as Wicked, sure, but a really good one nontheless. And obviously, that’s something I’m quite happy about - enough that I’m giving Maleficent a final mark of 8/10.
My review of this year's Maleficent movie. 
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