In Maleficent, Disney puts a twist on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale and gives you the other side of the story, told from the supposed villainess' point of view.
The story opens to a Maleficent as a fairy child, who is charged with protecting the inhabitants of the Moors, home to all the magical creatures. She soon meets young Stefan and they become friends, and then fall in love. But as they grow into adults, Stefan's hunger for power overpowers his love for Maleficent and eventually leads him to not only break her heart but to physically harm her by cutting off her fairy wings, to gain the favor of the dying king.
Stefan becomes the new king and marries the princess, and they have a child together, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). Maleficent is still hurt and enraged over the birth of the child, and invites herself to the Aurora's christening. She too bestows a "gift" upon the child, which is really a curse of death upon her 18th birthday. Stefan begs her to take back her curse and so she relents and softens the curse to she will not die, but instead, upon pricking her finger on a spinning wheel, she will fall into a death like sleep forever.
At this point of the story, you pretty much recognize the original plot where she is sent to live in hiding in the forest, except the 3 fairies, Flora, Fauna & Merryweather are bumbling idiots. This causes the stalking Maleficent to step in (from behind the scenes), to make sure the young Aurora survives until her 18th birthday. It is during this time, Maleficent grows to love the child, and becomes her protector.
I don't want to give away too many more spoilers, and have left out some other parts of the story like how she meets her crow, so you can enjoy the surprises and twists in the plot.
Over all the movie is visually stunning, with just the right amount of special effects, without it taking away from the story and acting. And since we are talking about acting-Angelina Jolie was born for this role. I can honestly say that if anyone else played Maleficent, the movie would not have been as good. When Jolie turns on that 1000 watt smile and seductively lowers those green eyes to look through her long lashes-you are mesmerized. Great supporting cast as well-both magical and human.
The DVD will be released on Nov. 4th, 2014 and is packed with these bonus features:
Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD/SD & Disney Movies Anywhere
· From Fairy Tale to Feature Film – Re-imagining Maleficent for a new generation
· Building An Epic Battle –Creating the clash between Maleficent and King Henry’s Forces
· Classic Couture – Examine Maleficent’s spellbinding head wraps and jewelry.
· Maleficent Revealed – Explore the layers of extraordinary special effects.
· Aurora: Becoming A Beauty – Elle Fanning reveals her lifelong love of Disney’s original animated classic.
· Deleted Scenes:
- “Stefan In King’s Chamber”
- “Pixie Idiots”
- “Diaval asks about the Curse”
- “Pixies Seek Asylum”
- “Suitor”
· And More!
*Digital bonus offerings will vary per retailer.
*****************************GIVEAWAY!!!********************************
You can enter to win a Maleficent Movie Pack including a Maleficent Pop Plush, Maleficent button, and a copy of Maleficent (2-Disc Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)! Visit our Facebook page and click the giveaway tab. You'll need to like our page to enter. Giveaway starts Friday October 31 at 12:00 AM Eastern Time and ends on Friday October 31 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
