As you have probably heard by now, Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie is now in theaters. I have been chomping at the bit to see this movie ever since I heard it was coming out. Now I will be honest, Sleeping Beauty was never really on repeat at my house. Sure I had seen it a few times, but not enough to remember the whole story. So in other words, I went in to this movie with a blank slate of sorts. I had a general idea of what who the movie was about, but not a full understanding.
This year, 2014, marks the 55th Anniversary of the character who put a spell on young “Sleeping Beauty” in the animated feature released by Disney in 1959. Since her introduction, Maleficent has been Disney’s all-time most popular villain. Now she returns in this live-action version of the classic story—and there’s a lot about her we never knew.
This movie was in one word “breathtaking” to me. The costumes, makeup, and scenes were so well thought out and executed. It literally took my breath away at times while Maleficent was soaring through the air especially watching it in 3D. There were times though that the 3D made me a bit dizzy, but I bet would look amazing on a regular screen.
The story line is well played out and really flowed throughout the whole movie. You can see how Maleficent goes from a fierce tiny beautiful fairy who just wanted a friend to becoming betrayed by that friend which in turn causes her and her world to turn dark and evil, then as Aurora comes in to her world you see her turn back and that the hardness of her heart is slowing breaking down.
I don’t want to go in to to many details of the movie so that you can experience it all for yourself. I will say that to me it isn’t really a kids movie. No there is no blood shed or anything too graphic during the fighting scenes, but for me it was a rather dark movie for littles to watch. When my kids get a bit older then I definitely want them to see this movie to show them how every person changes based how they are treated.
Overall an excellent movie. I wish they had done a bit more with the Aurora character, but I know that the movie was more about Maleficent. Great job Disney! Well worth the wait and I really enjoyed the live action and how they transformed characters that we have only known in the cartoon realm until now.
Leave a Reply