Every child knows the fairy tale of “Sleeping Beauty”. But what about the evil fairy? Why is she so angry and mean that she curses the princess shortly after she is born? “Maleficent – The Dark Fairy” gets to the bottom of this question.
Disney’s elaborately shot 3D film is clearly based on the cartoon “Sleeping Beauty” from 1959. Many elements of the classic appear in the remake, only there is no singing. But Robert Stromberg’s directorial debut is not a poor copy. The director has created a fairytale world around Angelina Jolie as a devilish fairy that is dark and menacing, but also glittering and magical and captivates both young and old viewers aged six and over. The film airs this Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. on Disney Channel.
The film begins with a happy young Maleficent joking around with the other residents of the wizarding world. But fate is approaching in the form of a boy who ventures into the realm of moor and forest. Maleficent and Stefan become best friends and fall in love. But Stefan’s greed for power and wealth puts an end to this love and finally culminates in a bitter betrayal.
The deeply hurt fairy swears revenge. When the king’s daughter, Aurora, is born, Maleficent unleashes years of pent-up hatred in a devastating curse intended to send the girl into a perpetual sleep on her 16th birthday.
At first, the princess has no idea about this dark prophecy. Well protected by three fairies, she grows up in a house in the forest. Maleficent and her companion Diaval (Sam Riley) are also secretly watching the happy, carefree child. Such is the grace and kindness of Aurora (Elle Fanning) that even the dark fairy begins to doubt if her curse was right.
Even though the scenery and costumes are elaborate, the film doesn’t come across as overloaded or glitzy-pink-sweet. This is mainly due to the play of colours, which creates a magical atmosphere with its alternation between light and dark. Maleficent’s thirst for revenge lay like a shadow over the fairy world. Instead of juicy green, orange and gold, mud tones dominate: ocher, gray and black. Only Maleficent’s bright red painted lips shine brightly, as does the poisonous green smoke that mysteriously wafts around her magic.
She is assisted by her faithful servant Diaval, a raven whom Maleficent transforms into a human, wolf or any other creature at his whim. He’s just as dark as his mistress, but he’s firmly convinced that there’s good somewhere in Maleficent’s heart, too.
That’s also the message of the film: if you’re bad, you often have a reason for it. For Maleficent, it’s the betrayal that has shaken her to the core. Unlike in previous films of Sleeping Beauty, she therefore arouses sympathy. The real villain is quite different. That’s why the end of the film is only logical, which also evokes the strength of women.
