Maleficent

If it were not for the betrayal of a dear friend named Stefan (or so she thought), Maleficent might not have turned evil and cursed his newborn daughter Aurora to an eternal sleep-like death. War might have also been avoided if both Stefan's human kingdom and Maleficent's magical fairy kingdom had learned to live together in peace.

Alas, the arrogance and greed of man can be a powerful thing - and not in a good way. Despite having grown up together and becoming the best of friends after Stefan stumbled into Maleficent's home as a child, his human nature got the best of him once the king offered the throne to anyone who could vanquish Maleficent and destroy the magical realm. After sneaking out of the castle to "warn" Maleficent of the coming danger, Stefan caused her to fall into a deep sleep, and while she rested he cut off her wings to bring them back to the king as proof of his deed. When she woke up and discovered what he had done, her heart hardened and she developed an intense hatred for the man she once loved. As revenge for his treachery, Maleficent visited Stefan at his castle and cursed his daughter Aurora to fall into an eternal sleep-like death after pricking her finger on a needle of a spinning wheel when she turned 16.

I honestly was kind of surprised at just how dark Maleficent turned out to be. I knew from the trailers it wasn't going to be a feel-good type of love story that Disney is so well known for but I wasn't ready for the tone to be similar to that of, say, Snow White and the Huntsman, or even Oz the Great and Powerful. Not to mention that the focus this time is one of Disney's most notorious villains instead of the princess. In a weird sort of way, I sort of appreciated the dark nature of the film, however I wonder if it was too dark for a kids movie. Disney's original cartoon Sleeping Beauty still had a pretty dark nature, but Maleficent seemed to take that darkness and multiply it. If this were a PG13 or R movie I might not make such a big deal out of it, however since it's specifically targeted towards kids I'm hesitant to instantly recommend Maleficent for young kids. Personally, I know I would have freaked out at some of the things portrayed onscreen if I had seen it at a young age.

And yet, with all the darkness prevalent throughout the film, there were some positive changes from the original story I greatly appreciated. For instance, instead of cursing Aurora and then waiting for her to die, Maleficent feels remorse and tries to take away the curse. When she is unable to do so, Maleficent becomes a make-shift fairy godmother, watching Aurora from a distance to make sure she is safe from harm. This action in turn makes Maleficent's heart soften and makes what was a pure evil character more complex.  (SPOILER WARNING) Another thing I appreciated was that Disney pulls a move similar to what they did with Frozen where someone else other than a stereotypical lover delivers the act of true love that breaks the spell. It was also interesting to see the background story come to life onscreen as to what made Maleficent so evil.

In the end, I really did enjoy it, and I would recommend Maleficent to families with kids probably around middle school age and up. Parents of younger kids should be careful though.