Monster Character WiKi
Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
Introduction:
In Disney’s 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent is an evil fairy who can turn herself into a dragon. The character shows up about 55 years later in the 2014 live-action film titled Maleficent. Also, Maleficent is a main character in Season 4: Part 2 for the television show Once Upon a Time. In all three fantasy stories, Maleficent is known for her black horns, which denotes her dark magic. She carries a staff with a glowing green orb at the top through which she uses to cast her spells.
In Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent did not receive an invitation to Princess Aurora’s christening, so she casts a spell upon the newborn. The curse she enacts is perhaps the most famous quote by Maleficent in the film: “The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her. But, before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die!" The three good fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, change the curse so that Aurora will fall into a deep sleep instead of dying. The three fairies protect Aurora and hide her from Maleficent. Obviously on Aurora’s sixteenth birthday, Maleficent finds her and orders her to touch the spinning wheel so that she will prick her finger and die.
Character Analysis:
In Sleeping Beauty, there is no event that makes Maleficent turn evil. Her past is not told to explain her wickedness. The audience sees Maleficent as always being evil. They feel no sympathy for her because her story is not told. She exists to define herself as a villain; complete opposite of the good characters, Aurora, Phillip, and the three fairies. As a result, her intentions never change. Maleficent has no character arc. She does not change; she simply wants to hurt people, and she dies wanting to hurt people. Underneath it all, she is simply a monster who takes delight in being evil and never wants to change for the better.
In Maleficent, the audience sees her back story. Maleficent becomes evil because she is drugged by King Stefan and he proceeds to cut off her wings. The audience is meant to feel sympathy for her because her dark, sad past is told to us. Maleficent character arc changes throughout the movie. She eventually turns good again after her encounter with Aurora and ends up saving her life.
The character of Maleficent has evolved considerably over time. In 1959, Maleficent was this evil monster who would do anything to hurt anybody. She turns into a fire-breathing dragon to attempt to kill Prince Phillip, Aurora’s true love. In the end, it is Prince Phillip who awakes Aurora by his kiss from the sleeping curse Maleficent cast on her. Now, in the Maleficent movie, she is still an evil monster but changes throughout the movie. Maleficent casts the same curse on Aurora, but after she gets to know her she wants to remove the curse. She starts to see Aurora as a daughter and does not want her to die. In the end, Maleficent thinks it is beyond hope to try to save Aurora as Prince Phillip’s kiss does not awake her. Out of sadness, Maleficent kisses Aurora on the forehead and she is surprised to see that this awakes her.
The character of Maleficent was not so popular, until the return of her in 21st century pop culture. Now, the character has reemerged as one of the greatest Disney villains of all time. Maleficent is even appearing as a main character on the hit TV show, Once Upon a Time on ABC.
Official Trailer for Sleeping Beauty
Want more information on this
classic Disney movie? Visit http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053285/
Official Trailer for Maleficent
Check out Disney’s official website at
http://movies.disney.com/maleficent to learn more
about Maleficent!
*All pictures from Deviant Art*
By: Christina Hrubochak
