Forget what you know about Sleeping Beauty. Seriously, forget it. Her story doesn’t compare to the real love story that is MALEFICENT.
King Stefan betrays Maleficent in his quest for power. Once the two were young and in love. Stefan, a human and Maleficent, a fairy met when Stefan crossed into the forest kingdom, where Maleficent lived protecting the moors, to steal a magical stone. As he grew, Stefan’s hunger for power led him to serve the King and inherit the human kingdom with his betrayal of harshly ripping Maleficent of her wings to honor the king.
This betrayal turns Maleficent’s heart of pure love to pure stone.
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“I chose true love because it doesn’t exist,” Maleficent says of the spell she casts on Princess Aurora.
King Stefan sends Princess Aurora away to live in a hidden cottage until she is a day over 16 in hopes to protect her from the spell. Princess Aurora lives a happy life in the forest kingdom and even meets a prince along the way. Maleficent watches over the princess as she grows up to ensure her spell will be carried out. And it is. The kiss of true love is the twist in this fairy tale. I won’t give it away in this review but it is my absolute favorite part of this story.
In a world of fairy tales where the princess always gets her prince, MALEFICENT reveals that true love doesn’t always exist in that ‘traditional’ way. The lesson here is a greater lesson of where true love really exists. It’s not what we’ve been programmed to believe all these years and that is what makes MALEFICENT beautiful.
Cast and Movie
While all the other characters are very suited and scripted, they are mostly background to the grandiose role of Maleficent played by Angelina Jolie. No one else would have done this character justice. Jolie morphs from a beautiful fairy full of love into a stone-cold, wingless Queen of Moor seeking hateful revenge. Yes, her fluorescent eyes and cheekbones are digitally adjusted to create the evil look but done perfectly to mesmerize the audience.
Elle Fanning played a great Princess Aurora. Aurora has a simple and positive persona. She’s been kept away for 16 years. Fanning brings a softness to the character that plays out well on the big screen opposite Jolie’s intensity.
MALEFICENT is directed by Robert Stromberg and stars Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville. It is in theaters May 30, 2014.
We saw this movie in 3D. I wouldn’t say that it’s a necessity. From what I’ve seen on TV and trailers like the one below, I think the impact is the same without 3D. It does make it fun, though!
