Maleficent is a Disney film which retells the story of the Sleeping Beauty from the

perspective of the villain, Maleficent. This film was released in theaters on May 30th, 2014 and it
is geared towards young adults and adults. Although Maleficent retains all of the archetypal fairy
tale characters and conventions of the original the Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault, many of
the conventions and characters are altered in order to appeal to the 21st century audience. The
film had widely mixed reviews from critics as some critics praised Maleficent for staying
surprisingly faithful to the original while recreating the title character as an infinitely more
complex creature (MovieCrypt). One of the most notable conventions that is different in this film
is the character of Maleficent. While in the original version, Maleficent is presented as someone
who is pure evil, in this version she is someone who is much more complicated. The notion of
true love is a dominant factor in many fairy tales and Maleficent is no different. But, in this film
true love is portrayed very differently from the original version. Maleficent is a film that perfectly
balances the fairy tale conventions present in the 17th century version and alters them to appeal
to a 21st century audience.
The character of the villain Maleficent, is far more complex in this film than the original
version of the Sleeping Beauty. In most of the fairy tales that weve read, the character of the
villain is absolutely evil, with no gray areas but Maleficent is quite different. By creating a origin
story for her, the film makers made her more relatable and human-like. The back story of
Maleficent coincides with the notion that evil is created, not born. Maleficent is first presented
as an innocent fairy flies freely around the Moors and acts as its protector. She is driven to being
evil by the betrayal of Stefan when he cuts off her wings. Maleficents most evil side is shown in
the film when she arrives at the christening and ruthlessly curses baby Aurora. In an interview
with Rotten Tomatoes when asked what makes Maleficent relatable to its audience, Angelina
Jolie states, Shes troubled, you know, and i think we all relate to troubled.Weve all been hurt
in our lives, somebody has betrayed us and it makes us put our wall up and it makes us furious
and it changes who we are and weve all had that experience. No one is either just good or
bad like how most characters are portrayed in many fairy tales, the act that Maleficent is both
good AND bad is what makes her appealing to a 21st century audience.

The convention of true love is portrayed very differently in Maleficent. In the fairy tales
that weve been reading so far, the aspect of true love is portrayed as something pure and
honest but that is not the case in Maleficent. The main reason why Maleficent becomes evil is
because she is betrayed by someone who she believed to be her true love. This very much
appeals to the modern day audience because not every love is pure and innocent like the ones
portrayed in fairy tales. Although Stefans betrayal of Maleficent is probably far more cruel than
the betrayal we face from our loved ones, it nonetheless shows the impurity of love. In the film,
Stefan cuts off Maleficents wings which leaves Maleficent absolutely crushed. Angelina Jolie
reveals that the cutting off of Maleficents wings represents rape in an interview with BBC Radio
4s Womans hour show: What could make a woman become so dark and lose all sense of her
maternity, her womanhood and her softness? Something would have to be so violent and
aggressive. Stefans act of betrayal shows that not all true love is truly, true love. In the film,
the real true love is portrayed by Maleficents love towards Aurora. After Stefans betrayal
Maleficent loses her belief in true love but it is restored by her love for Aurora.

Hiblen, Carolyn. "'We Were Very Conscious That It Was a Metaphor

for Rape': Angelina Jolie Reveals the Powerful Meaning behind
Harrowing Maleficent Wing-tearing Scene." Mail Online.
Associated Newspapers, 12 June 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.
"Review: 'Maleficent' (magnificent!)." <i>MovieCryptcom</i>.
N.p., 22 June 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.
"Angelina Jolie - Maleficent Interview." <i>YouTube</i>. YouTube,
n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.