Herbie Murray
Maleficent is a fictional character who first appeared in Walt Disney's 1959 animated film, Sleeping Beauty. She is the self-proclaimed Mistress of All Evil and is based on the wicked fairy character in Charles Perrault's fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty. Maleficent's story has been explored in various other films, comics, and books, including the 2014 film Maleficent, which provided a new origin story for the character, and its 2019 sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. The character has also appeared in Disney parks and attractions, as well as in video games such as Kingdom Hearts. While there are some differences between the various portrayals of Maleficent, she is often depicted as a powerful and evil villainess who curses Princess Aurora at her christening.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Main Antagonist | Maleficent |
| Plot | Maleficent is the story of the antagonist of Sleeping Beauty, showing a more sympathetic version of the classic tale. |
| Tone | Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale, read straight out of a storybook. Maleficent takes the story to a Bizarro World version. |
| King Stefan | In Sleeping Beauty, King Stefan is a wholly sympathetic character. In Maleficent, he is ruthless and betrays Maleficent. |
| Maleficent's Wings | In Maleficent, King Stefan drugs Maleficent and cuts off her wings. |
| Maleficent's Death | Maleficent is the first Disney villain whose manner of death is shown graphically. |
| Fairies | In Sleeping Beauty, the fairies are implied to be incompetent. In Maleficent, their haplessness is expressly stated. |
| Aurora's Curse | In Sleeping Beauty, Aurora is cursed to die by pricking her finger on a spinning wheel. In Maleficent, she is cursed to fall into a death-like slumber, which can be broken by true love's kiss. |
| Maleficent's Relationship with Aurora | In Maleficent, Aurora considers Maleficent her godmother. Maleficent protects Aurora from afar and ultimately regrets cursing her. |
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What You'll Learn
Maleficent is the first Disney villain whose death is shown graphically
Maleficent is the ultimate epitome of evil in the Disney universe. She is evil, sadistic, malicious, devious, wicked, and ruthless and will do whatever it takes to achieve her ruthless goals and cause pain, misfortune, and suffering to others. She is the main antagonist of Disney's 1959 animated feature film Sleeping Beauty. She is a powerful and oppressive villainess, and her character introduces a major conflict in the narrative.
Maleficent is the first Disney villain in history whose manner of death is shown rather graphically. Her death was the goriest of the Disney villains' defeats during Walt Disney's lifetime and, to this day, is seen as one of Disney's most graphic deaths ever. When she was stabbed in the heart by Prince Phillip, blood was clearly visible oozing out from under the sword on the area of her chest that was stabbed. She is also the only Disney villain to be deliberately and directly killed by one of the heroes within Walt Disney's lifetime. Most other villains, if they were killed off, were usually victims of their own actions with the heroes not playing any role in their demise.
Maleficent's death is similar to that of Narissa, who also transforms into a dragon in her battle against Prince Phillip. However, Narissa falls from the top of a building and slams her back into another part of the building as she tries to chant a spell to save herself. She then spirals down to the streets of New York City.
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Maleficent is the antagonist in Sleeping Beauty
Maleficent's past is explored in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (2010), where she appears in her home world, Enchanted Dominion, fulfilling the same role as in Sleeping Beauty. She also appears in the 2014 film Maleficent, which provided a new origin for the villainess, and its sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019). In the original Disney film, she was already feared by the nobility and the good fairies before she cursed Princess Aurora. Maleficent's transformation into a dragon represents her formidable power and ominous presence. Her attire, including a horned headdress and bat-like robe, anticipates this dragon form.
Maleficent is angered by not being invited to Princess Aurora's christening and, in revenge, she curses the infant princess to "prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die" before her sixteenth birthday. This curse is pivotal to the plot of Sleeping Beauty, as it sets in motion the events that follow. The spinning wheel activates the curse when Aurora pricks her finger, leading her into a deep, ageless sleep. This sleep, originally intended to be death, can only be broken by True Love's Kiss. Maleficent's role as the antagonist in Sleeping Beauty is further emphasised by her pursuit of Princess Aurora for sixteen years after casting the curse.
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Maleficent's past is explored in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Maleficent is a well-known character in Disney's Sleeping Beauty, where she is the main antagonist. She is a powerful and oppressive villainess who cursed Princess Aurora at her christening, predicting that she would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die before sunset on her 16th birthday. Maleficent's past is explored in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, where she seeks to gain control over all the worlds and spread darkness throughout them.
In the Kingdom Hearts series, Maleficent made her first appearance in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. She is an evil fairy who seeks to control all the worlds and spread darkness. Maleficent's role in the game is to block the player's progress and serve as a boss character. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Maleficent wears a golden ring with a circular black stone and becomes a Dimension Link for Terra after visiting Aurora's Chamber.
Maleficent's past is further explored in the game Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, which reveals that she has knowledge of time travel and can quickly move between worlds using Corridors of Darkness. In the game, Maleficent is defeated by Phillip, who throws his sword into her chest with the help of the fairies. This causes her to turn back to normal and weakens her.
Maleficent's backstory has been the subject of various interpretations and explorations, including in the 2014 film "Maleficent" and its sequel, "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" (2019). These explorations delve into the origins of her villainy and present alternative narratives to the traditional Sleeping Beauty tale.
In summary, Maleficent's past is explored in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, revealing her abilities, motivations, and role as a major antagonist. Her character serves as a pivotal element in the game's narrative, providing challenges and revelations for the player.
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Maleficent is a powerful witch rather than an old crone
Maleficent is a powerful witch and sorceress, rather than an old crone. She is the ultimate personification of pure evil in Sleeping Beauty and is similar to Chernabog in that she wreaks chaos and destruction for the fun of it. She is the main antagonist of the story, and her character introduces a major conflict in the narrative. Maleficent is a malevolent fairy and an incarnation of pure evil, responsible for all the misfortune in King Stefan's kingdom. She is frequently accompanied by her pet raven, Diablo, and has a hatred for the three good fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, her benevolent rivals.
Maleficent is often referenced as both a witch/sorceress and a dark fairy. These labels may be more indicative of how she is perceived by others, rather than what she truly is, as she has been confirmed to be an evil witch. In the Kingdom Hearts series, she is referred to as "The Dark Fairy". Her powers are magic-based, and she possesses an unlimited arsenal of magic powers at her command. She can use lightning projection, divination, teleportation, and weather manipulation. She can also cast powerful dark magic spells, such as her forest of thorns, and she was capable of hypnosis, as she demonstrated on Aurora to make her prick her finger. Her transformation into a dragon represents her formidable power and ominous presence, and her shapeshifting ability is a testament to her magical prowess and manipulative nature.
Maleficent's elegant design, with her horned headdress and bat-like robe, suits the gothic elegance of the film's art style, which was influenced by Eyvind Earle's Pre-Renaissance aesthetic. Marc Davis' decision to make Maleficent a powerful witch was influenced by Eleanor Audley's voice, which suggested a very powerful character. Her attire and design also reflect this power, with long robes resembling flames and a headdress featuring bat wings and devil horns.
Maleficent is a complex character, and her story has been explored in various ways, including the 2014 film starring Angelina Jolie, which provided a new origin for the villainess. She is a ruthless, sadistic, and merciless villain, but she was not always this way. Maleficent was once a benevolent, pure, and innocent young woman who protected the Moors and its inhabitants. However, after being betrayed and deceived by her childhood friend and lover, Stefan, who severed her wings, her heart turned to stone, and she became the Evil Queen of the Moors.
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Maleficent subverts the Christian symbolism of Sleeping Beauty
Disney’s Maleficent is a revisionist retelling of the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty, based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale of the same name. This new version subverts the Christian symbolism of the original story, which is arguably the most overtly Christian fairy tale in the Disney canon.
In the original tale, Maleficent is a powerful and oppressive villainess, a self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil" in league with "all the powers of Hell". She is a malevolent fairy, responsible for all the misfortune in King Stefan's kingdom. Maleficent's decisive evil act is to curse the newborn Princess Aurora to die by pricking her finger on a spinning wheel's spindle before the sun sets on her 16th birthday. This act of vengeance is committed because she was not invited to the christening of Princess Aurora by King Stefan and his wife, Queen Leah.
In contrast, the 2014 live-action retelling of Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, offers a different interpretation of the title character. While Jolie's Maleficent retains some satanic features, such as horns and a crow familiar called "Diaval", she is not portrayed as purely evil. Instead, the film explores Maleficent's past and the events that led her to become a villain, including her complicated relationship with King Stefan, which involved betrayal and maiming. In this version, Maleficent even tries to save Aurora by orchestrating "true love's kiss", bringing Prince Philip to the sleeping princess's side.
The climax of the original tale involves an epic battle between Prince Philip, armed with a ""sword of truth" and a "shield of virtue" bearing a cross, and Maleficent, who has transformed into a dragon. This confrontation symbolises the allegorical battle between good and evil. However, this pivotal scene is notably absent from the 2014 film, further emphasising its departure from the Christian symbolism of the original Sleeping Beauty.
By shifting the embodiment of evil from Maleficent to the patriarchal figure of King Stefan, the revisionist retelling of Maleficent offers a different perspective on the traditional fairy tale. This subversion of Christian symbolism has been criticised by some as poor storytelling and revisionism, while others appreciate the exploration of the antagonist's motivations and the deconstruction of the original story's themes.
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Frequently asked questions
Maleficent is a revisionist retelling of the original Sleeping Beauty story, with the character of King Stefan being the main antagonist instead of Maleficent, who is portrayed as a more sympathetic character.
Maleficent is the main antagonist of Disney's 1959 animated feature film Sleeping Beauty. She is a powerful and oppressive villainess who curses Princess Aurora at her christening.
Maleficent explores the backstory of the villainous fairy from Sleeping Beauty, revealing that she was wronged by King Stefan, who betrayed and mutilated her, cutting off her wings. The film also shows Maleficent acting as a protective godmother to Aurora, eventually undoing the curse she placed on her.
Yes, Maleficent is a fictional character who first appears in Walt Disney Productions' animated film, Sleeping Beauty (1959). She has since appeared in various Disney media, including theme parks, comic books, and video games.
Yes, Maleficent is based on the wicked fairy character in Charles Perrault's fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, as well as the villainess in the Brothers Grimm's retelling, Little Briar Rose. In the Disney film, she is a powerful witch with magical abilities, including shapeshifting into a dragon.
