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‘maleficent’: film review.

Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning topline Disney's reimagining of "Sleeping Beauty."

By Sheri Linden

Sheri Linden

Senior Copy Editor/Film Critic

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No stranger to larger-than-life characters, Angelina Jolie doesn’t chew the estimable scenery in Maleficent — she infuses it, wielding a magnetic and effortless power as the magnificently malevolent fairy who places a curse on a newborn princess. Her iconic face subtly altered with prosthetics, she’s the heart and soul (Maleficent has both, it turns out) of Disney’s revisionist, live-action look at its most popular cartoon villain, the self-described Mistress of All Evil from 1959’s Sleeping Beauty . A few bumpy patches notwithstanding, the new feature is an exquisitely designed, emotionally absorbing work of dark enchantment. With the production’s star wattage, well-known source material and multipronged branding push, the studio should see its $175 million gamble on a first-time director stir up box-office magic both domestically and in international markets.

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As the Broadway musical Wicked did for the Wicked Witch of the West, the movie humanizes Maleficent by creating an origin story, revealing a shocking betrayal that turned the kind fairy vengeful. Reworking an age-old tale that has undergone countless variations over the centuries, the screenplay by Linda Woolverton ( Beauty and the Beast ) draws from Charles Perrault ’s 1697 “La Belle au bois dormant” and the animated Disney feature that gave the spiteful character a name and a deliciously sinister personality — which Jolie deepens while still finding the kick in it. There’s no hundred-year sleep in the new film’s timeline, and the handsome prince is a bit player in a story whose true center is a love that has nothing to do with happily-ever-after romance.

The Bottom Line With a dynamic blend of live action and effects, this is a dark, dazzling and psychologically nuanced fairy-tale reinvention.

PHOTOS: 35 of 2014’s Most Anticipated Movies: ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past,’ ‘Maleficent’

But magical fairy-tale elements still abound in the debut helming effort of Robert Stromberg , production designer on Avatar and a longtime visual effects artist whose credits include Pan’s Labyrinth , The Hunger Games and Life of Pi . “Let us tell an old story anew,” the film’s voiceover narration begins, setting a tone of once-upon-a-time with a twist. (The opening scenes were written by an uncredited John Lee Hancock for late-in-production reshoots.) Though the narration sometimes states what’s already obvious, Janet McTeer delivers it with mellifluous and warm authority.

Those early scenes show the blossoming love between two orphans: a compassionate fairy girl named Maleficent and a human boy, Stefan. Played as kids by Isobelle Molloy and Michael Higgins , and as teens by Ella Purnell and Jackson Bews , they grow apart as adults. Jolie’s Maleficent is busy as protector of the moors, and Stefan is driven by ruthless ambition to attain his kingdom’s crown. He’s played by Sharlto Copley as the epitome of cravenness — a far cry from the just, noble and dreamy kings of many a childhood story, including the source for this one.

To secure that crown, Stefan commits an act of unspeakable cruelty against Maleficent. The mutilation takes place offscreen, but its effects are fully felt; Maleficent’s heartrending reaction recalls Jolie’s cry of anguish as Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart . To call Maleficent a woman scorned would be the mildest of understatements. And so her cruelty is understandable, if not justifiable, when, in a scene of beautifully orchestrated suspense and terror, she attends the christening of King Stefan’s child, Aurora, and casts her under a spell, dooming her to begin a very long nap at age 16, after the famously foreordained incident with a spinning-wheel needle.

The teenage Aurora, appearing three-quarters of an hour into the movie, is played by Elle Fanning with a preternatural brightness. (Jolie’s daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt takes her screen bow as the 5-year-old princess.) The opposition between the innocent, openhearted girl and the hate-filled fairy queen has the necessary archetypal pull, and their initial meeting, in the night forest, is one of the most striking sequences in the Disney canon.

STORY: From ‘Maleficent’ to ‘Hercules’: Summer’s 5 Biggest Box-Office Risks

There’s a diamond-in-the-rough aspect to Aurora’s loveliness; she’s no conventional Disney Princess but a child of nature with a strong sense of justice and an innate toughness — qualities that link her to the young Maleficent. Assuming that Maleficent is her fairy godmother and not her nemesis, she befriends her, and gradually Maleficent grows protective of her unwitting victim and conflicted beneath her poise. As in  Brave , there’s a deeply felt maternal bond informing the action, but in this case it’s one defined not by blood but by affinity and respect. A prince ( Brenton Thwaites ) shows up — on a white horse, no less — but he’s hardly a key element of the drama.

The separate worlds of lovers-turned-enemies Maleficent and Stefan are divided by a wall of thorns and vividly imagined, defined in ways that bridge the stylized (inspired by the animated feature and vintage illustrations) and the richly textured organic. Stromberg and producer Joe Roth have enlisted a team of ace collaborators, and for the most part the film seamlessly combines the work of the actors with the costume design by Anna B. Sheppard , the production design of Gary Freeman and  Dylan Cole , and the Carey Villegas -supervised visual effects.

The enchanted moors combine a misty, painterly quality with a make-believe sparkle, although the resident mud creatures, with their Darth Vader voices, are as distracting as the rock monsters in Noah . On the human side, there are quintessential storybook settings, august castles and expansive fields of war. The 3D, though unnecessary, lends a subtle depth to the visuals.

The most extraordinary visual effect, though, is Jolie’s transformation into the title character. With the help of prosthetic appliances, contact lenses and a team led by creature-design whiz Rick Baker , Maleficent has iridescent eyes and cheekbones like knives. Jolie gives her a regal bearing and an ultra-composed way of speaking. In battle scenes that are integral to the story but whose scale and clamor feel like concessions to contemporary action-movie norms, Maleficent is right in the fray, a Valkyrie facing down invaders.

Tempering her rage and intensity is the raven Diaval ( Sam Riley , equipped with beaklike schnoz), Maleficent’s shape-shifting sidekick of sorts. Their back-and-forth has a comedic edge. Providing broader comic relief and whimsy are three tiny pixies played by Imelda Staunton , Juno Temple and Lesley Manville through a combo of performance capture and CGI. Entrusted by the king with caring for Aurora before her fateful 16th birthday, they snap out of their pixel-based bodies into human size but remain hopelessly  pixilated — clownishly inept at childcare.

The comedy is never overstated, whereas the swell and bombast of James Newton Howard ’s score comes on strong in the early sequences before finding a groove. For most of the movie, Stromberg strikes the right balance between intimacy and spectacle, and Dean Semler ’s fluent camerawork reveals the invented world with a sophisticated take on the primal play of darkness and light.  

Production companies: Roth Films Cast: Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manning, Brenton Thwaites, Kenneth Cranham, Ella Purnell, Jackson Bews, Isobelle Molloy, Michael Higgins, Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Janet McTeer Director: Robert Stromberg Screenwriter: Linda Woolverton  Producer: Joe Roth Executive producers: Angelina Jolie, Michael Vieira, Don Hahn, Palak Patel, Matt Smith, Sarah Bradshaw Director of photography: Dean Semler Production designers: Gary Freeman, Dylan Cole Costume designer: Anna B. Sheppard  Editors: Chris Lebenzon, Richard Pearson Composer: James Newton Howard Senior visual effects supervisor: Carey Villegas Special makeup effects artist: Rick Baker

Rated PG, 97 minutes

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Angelina Jolie is one of the last movie stars, although in recent years, Hollywood has seemed mostly unable to fashion projects that would demonstrate why. Her work as Maleficent, the bad queen from Disney's "Sleeping Beauty," is a reminder of how electrifying and fun she can be. 

Jolie first played the part in 2014's " Maleficent ," a live-action (but thoroughly CGI'd) fantasy drama that reimagined the story from the character's point-of-view, ultimately treating her as more of a volatile antihero enacting grievances upon the land than a straight-up villain who existed to do mean things and be vanquished. Her razor-sharp prosthetic cheekbones, elegant horns, and velvety wings seem to spring organically from the sorts of roles Jolie played before she took a sharp left turn into more neutered or saintly roles in the mid-aughts—particularly the title character in HBO's "Gia," and the Jack Nicholson-like rebel she played in the mental hospital drama " Girl, Interrupted " (winning an Oscar in the process). Her Maleficent voice channels old movie stars (Joan Crawford especially), and she's never more delightful than when the character is trying to keep her witchiness under wraps and failing.

The sequel "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" would seem like a perfect complement to the first film, because it's built around a clash between Jolie and another great '80s and '90s star, Michelle Pfeiffer . But having set up this potentially juicy conflict, and having detailed a scenario that would put it front-and-center while deepening Maleficent's relationship with her human goddaughter Aurora ( Elle Fanning ), the movie repeatedly fails to get out of its own way. The result is a disappointment that's more crushing than an outright bad movie would be. The original, despite its flaws, had moments of primal power and deep understanding of what drives people, qualities that are mostly lacking here.

Pfeiffer plays Queen Ingrith, the mother of Prince Phillip ( Harris Dickinson ), a human royal from a nearby kingdom who wants to marry Aurora. Aurora and Phillip see their impending union as a "bridge" joining the human kingdom and the magical creatures who live on the moors under the protection of Aurora and Maleficent (a bit of a " Shrek "-y touch here). 

Unfortunately for both of them, and for everybody else, Ingrith is a genocidal hatemonger. The animosity between the two sides is larded with vague references to racist and genocidal regimes throughout history, as well as the current border crisis in the United States. Ingrith is furious when her husband, King John ( Robert Lindsay ), asks her to cease her nonstop invective and be on her best behavior during an engagement dinner at their castle. 

The long scene that follows is a high point for all of the actors, with resentments bubbling up even when everyone involved is trying to make peace. All of Ingrith's choices are calculated to inflame Maleficent, from serving squab (which requires one winged creature to eat another) to furnishing the table with utensils made of iron (according to the mythology established here, faeries are allergic to iron).

But the script doesn't seem willing or able to escalate tension gradually, so that we can savor the characters' psychology and the actors' mostly sharp performances and feel as if this Disney sequel is trying to get at something deep and true rather than just take money from people who liked the first movie. The dinner becomes an instant disaster that leads to a state of open warfare. Maleficent gets back in touch with the faeries who used to live openly all over the world until human hatred and violence drove them literally underground, where they live in a series of caverns and tunnels. The scenes between Maleficent and her lost fellow winged creatures are sincerely staged by filmmaker Joachim Rønning ,  who co-directed "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," particularly Maleficent's prolonged entrance to the kingdom though a series of spiraling tunnels; but once they're all gathered together, discussing grievances and plans, the film starts to feel like one of those big-budget cable or streaming fantasies that has more money than imagination. At least  Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ed Skrein make a strong impression as, respectively, a sensible and cautious character and a rebel hothead.

The stage is set for a clash of armies, with the winged creatures trying to figure out how to penetrate a perimeter guarded by huge crossbows loaded with iron bolts. The final war feels more like a Marvel CGI mayhem-fest or a battle episode of "Game of Thrones" than anything in the traditional Disney animated canon, and the lead-up expends prodigious amounts of time on court intrigue (including the question of whether a major character was poisoned, and by whom) that could have been more usefully spent on continuing to develop the major characters. 

Worse, the story seems incapable of dealing with the issues that it makes a point of raising. Ingrith's racism (species-ism?) marks her as a villain, one seemingly driven mad with rage, but we know from real life that even if we hate people who hold these views, they're still members of a family, and that makes the dynamics in the household complicated and painful for everybody else. The movie gives little thought to what the war does to Phillip, whose own mother is the architect of the clash, and only slightly more thought to Aurora, who seems a bit quick to accept that the surrogate mother who raised and protected her must be taken out of the picture for the greater good, or so that the wedding can go forward. (It's clear that Ingrith only wants the wedding to proceed so that she can have an excuse to, in the words of Kurtz in "Heart of Darkness," "Exterminate all the brutes.") The climactic settling of scores is particularly cowardly in this respect: Ingrith all but vanishes from the movie, saving the filmmakers the trouble of dealing with anything more complex than "bad lady who did bad things is not a threat to the nice people anymore." 

What went wrong? At some point maybe we'll get the full story, but this certainly looks like a case where a hit property was retooled in hopes that it could appeal to a wider demographic (i.e. boys who sometimes get antsy when a story concentrates too much on marriage, love, family and all that icky stuff). The screenplay is credited to "Beauty and the Beast" writer Linda Woolverton and the team of Micha Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster , and the placement implies that the latter rewrote the former. 

But whatever the ratio of good ideas to bad, and regardless of where each bit came from, the result is a cascade of mostly unremarkable live-action fantasy imagery, a jumble of textures and colors and cliched camera movements (like the opening "helicopter shot" flying over the realm, which is exactly how every other movie like this begins). The character designs are lackluster, too: the humanoid animals, the big-eyed "cute" characters seemingly modeled on Hayao Miyazki's woodland creatures, and the borderline-creepy uncanny valley residents who are kinda-human-ish, all lack the spark of personality that Disney's old-school animators could have produced with pen and ink. ( Imelda Staunton ,  Lesley Manville and Juno Temple , who play three good faeries who function a bit like the mice in "Cinderella," somehow seem even more rubbery and toylike than in the first film.)

Worst of all, the movie fails to give Jolie the star vehicle she richly deserves, limiting her screen time in favor of new characters that aren't as interesting, and increasingly conveying her most important relationship, with Aurora, in throwaway dialogue and bits of visual shorthand. The relationship between a fearsome and misunderstood mother with her daughter during the run-up to her wedding should've been the heart of the picture, not all this sub-Tolkien scheming and military strategizing. There are a few striking moments, such as Phillip's first appearance, which is framed through the makeshift iris of Aurora holding up her crown, and a climactic exchange of looks between Aurora and her mother. But it all feels rushed-through and improperly considered, like a fairy tale told to a child by a grownup who's tired and bored and just wants to go to bed.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Film Credits

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

119 minutes

Angelina Jolie as Maleficent

Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora

Michelle Pfeiffer as Queen Ingrith

Harris Dickinson as Prince Phillip

Juno Temple as Thistlewit

Teresa Mahoney as Dinner Servant

Sam Riley as Diaval

• Joachim Rønning
• Linda Woolverton
• Noah Harpster
• Micah Fitzerman-Blue

Director of Photography

• Henry Braham
• Laura Jennings

Original Music Composer

• Geoff Zanelli

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Review: Angelina Jolie is wickedly good in the not-quite-classic ‘Maleficent’

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In re-imagining the infamous evil queen who curses an innocent girl, “Maleficent” is very much a cautionary tale for modern times. It essentially begs the question — are you sure it was the shrew that needed taming?

It stars a wickedly good Angelina Jolie as the legendary Maleficent. In her hands, the queen is endlessly fascinating and worlds away from the fairy tale staple that so many generations have been introduced to via Disney’s animated “Sleeping Beauty” (1959). The new film’s position is clear and uncompromising on the question of who was in the wrong.

Unlike “Sleeping Beauty,” “Maleficent” explains all: motivation, regrets — from the queen’s point of view. This multifaceted Maleficent has wit and empathy as well as rage. Jolie hasn’t looked like she’s had such fun with a role since 2005’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” though her “Kung Fu Panda” Tigress does have a bit of an ironic growl.

The other players in Maleficent’s sphere and the bones of the ancient story will feel familiar, based as it is on the animated movie and one of 17th century French writer Charles Perrault’s folk tales. But the spine of it has been changed by screenwriter Linda Woolverton. She joined the Disney fairy tale business with 1991’s animated hit “Beauty and the Beast” after a lot of work in episodic TV. Veteran art director Robert Stromberg directs.

Like most fairy tales, there are good and evil metaphors for little ones and grown-ups alike. In that regard, “Maleficent” is Disney’s most adventurous female empowerment parable yet as it explores how the age-old power struggle between men and women shapes the identity of both parties. Though it never plays like a polemic, the film has so much it wants to say the emotional power that might have made it a classic is undercut — that is the other power struggle going on in the film.

Despite the bumps, “Maleficent” is visually striking from its watercolor palette to its ethereal woodland creatures, the ones that rise from the earth have the kind of fearsome look and power that might frighten little ones. Stromberg’s mastery of the craft earned him art direction Oscars for his work on “Avatar” (2009) and “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), and you can feel the imprint of that artistry in every frame.

Along with a crack creative team that includes cinematographer Dean Semler, production designers Gary Freeman and Dylan Cole, costume designer Anna B. Sheppard and senior effects supervisor Carey Villegas, the filmmaker creates a world that sits on the edge of fantasy and reality. James Newton Howard’s score is a lovely accompaniment.

Though the film starts earlier, Maleficent’s primary beef is with Stefan (Sharlto Copley), who grows from a charming ordinary boy (Michael Higgins as the youngest, Jackson Bews as the teen) into a weak man desirous of being king.

Aurora is the infant Maleficent curses for her father’s crimes, and as a youngster she’s played by one of Jolie’s little ones, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, followed by Eleanor Worthington-Cox. The luminous Elle Fanning steps in as Aurora at 16, pricking her finger on a spindle and falling in a death-like sleep while she awaits true love’s kiss. Oh, but so much happens before we get there.

We first meet Maleficent in simpler times. She is a fairy too, but one who looks like an ordinary girl (Ella Purnell) — with wings. No one rules her side of the world. It isn’t necessary. Her days are filled with magical creatures whose mischief is entertainment enough.

The bad times begin with King Henry (Kenneth Cranham), a power-hungry, land-grabbing monarch who first tries to conquer Maleficent and when that doesn’t work demands her head. Stefan uses his boyhood friendship to get to her. Though he doesn’t have the stomach for murder, what he does provides the film’s most chilling scene.

That Maleficent’s wings are clipped when she gets too powerful serves as a potent allegory for glass ceilings. The arc of Maleficent from innocent herself to evil queen is as much about survival as revenge. And the price exacted for getting to the top is a high one. It plays even more ironically in the wake of the recent firing of the New York Times’ first female editor, Jill Abramson, and the descriptions of her management style as, well, shrewish.

Much of the film revolves around the relationship between Maleficent and Aurora as the girl grows up. A trio of tiny fairies — Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton), Flittle (Lesley Manville) and Thistlewit (Juno Temple) — who buzz around offering opinions and stirring up nonsense with their magic are somehow charged with raising the girl. They do a job of delivering many of the film’s lighter notes.

This is Jolie’s film because of the Maleficent she makes. Everyone else, even Aurora, fades in her presence. When she is on the screen, she is all you really see. In addition to an uncanny resemblance to the animated queen — those legendary cheekbones enhanced to an even sharper edge, those horns — the actress creates a queen who may not be easy to love, but she is hard to hate. The black-and-white stereotypes are replaced by far more subtle shadings, the sneer that so characterized the original Disney queen is softened.

And we haven’t even gotten to the curse-breaking power of true love’s kiss. You will likely see this twist coming, but it’s a nice one anyway.

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‘Maleficent’

MPAA rating: PG for sequences of fantasy action and violence, including frightening images

Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Playing: In general release

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Former Los Angeles Times film critic Betsy Sharkey is an award-winning entertainment journalist and bestselling author. She left the newsroom in 2015. In addition to her critical essays and reviews of about 200 films a year for The Times, Sharkey’s weekly movie reviews appeared in newspapers nationally and internationally. Her books include collaborations with Oscar-winning actresses Faye Dunaway on “Looking for Gatsby” and Marlee Matlin on “I’ll Scream Later.” Sharkey holds a degree in journalism and a master’s in communications theory from Texas Christian University.

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Maleficent Review

28 May 2014

There are many sides to any story, we are told. Maleficent suggests that the version of events in Disney’s 1959 Sleeping Beauty was a load of slanderous cobblers, besmirching a fairy just for having the temerity to possess a strong will, goat-like horns and a wish to put an infant in a coma. Maleficent was not, this story claims, an evil witch but a misunderstood woman, heartbroken, lonely and mostly very boring. Here, then, is the truth that gets in the way of a good story.

The opening pages take us to a land separated into two parts: one half housing humans, the other home to magical folk, among them four fairies. Three of these are your typical dainty wand-wavers, while one, Maleficent, has eagle wings and devil spikes but a good heart. She gives that heart to the wrong man and blah de blah winds up swearing vengeance on his first born, Aurora, in a repeat of the most famous scene from the cartoon.

At Aurora’s christening, two of the good fairies give her the gifts of beauty and unshakeable cheerfulness, before Maleficent huffs in and delivers her oddly specific present of a “sleep like death” when Aurora pricks her finger on a spinning wheel on her 16th birthday. We never learn what the third good fairy bestowed but we might deduce from the teenage princess’s credulous dimness that her final prize was never to be troubled by complex thought. The girl is a moron, repeatedly giggling into the path of probable death. It’s miraculous she survives to see sixteen.

There is unassailable confusion at the centre of this film. This is not a story of a woman’s fall to villainy, because it is constantly repeated that Maleficent is essentially good and won’t harm the child – minutes after giving the baby a death sentence, she’s feeding it when Aurora’s fairy godmothers don’t bother. So it’s not another side of the Sleeping Beauty tale; it’s a completely different story with the same cast and a couple of familiar moments. If the pleasure of these things is in seeing warped parallels with the original story then what’s the point if there are none and it arrives at a completely contradictory ending? It just doesn’t cohere to its simple conceit.

Robert Stromberg, graduating from visual effects supervisor to director, directs like a visual effects supervisor. Enormous care is taken on the magical environments, which have the same shiny box-fresh lifelessness of Oz: The Great and Powerful and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and very little expended on the real people. His mood is murky and his characters equally so. You might imagine that a character like Maleficent, whose animated persona was equal parts Norma Desmond and goth drag queen, would be fizzing with acid bon mots. Not a bit of it. She gets not one funny line. She gets three funny looks, which Angelina Jolie squeezes for all they are worth, perhaps just to have something to do other than sulk in trees. Jolie is perfect casting for a flesh-and-blood Maleficent, but she’s given a costume, not a role.

Robbed of her villainy, Maleficent has become – honestly no pun intended – a Magwitch figure, lurking nearby throughout Aurora’s life and trying to keep her from harm, despite being the one who set that harm in motion. She is baffling and boring. In the move to three-dimensions, Disney has flattened the poor woman out.

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Content Caution

In Theaters

• May 30, 2014
• Angelina Jolie as Maleficent; Elle Fanning as Aurora; Sharlto Copley as Stefan; Lesley Manville as Flittle; Imelda Staunton as Knotgrass; Juno Temple as Thistletwit; Sam Riley as Diaval; Brenton Thwaites as Prince Phillip

Home Release Date

• November 4, 2014
• Robert Stromberg

Distributor

• Walt Disney

Movie Review

Maleficent wasn’t always all horns and vitriol. She didn’t spring from the womb flinging curses and bashing the nurses with her magic staff.

In fact, she was pretty nice.

As a girl, she fed the animals and played with her forest friends and soared over her magical moors with those nifty wings of hers. She was patient and kind and maybe even a little wise. When a young human boy from a neighboring (and often hostile) kingdom snuck into the moors, Maleficent didn’t turn him into a beetle—not even when she learned that he’d pilfered a gem-like rock. She just made Stefan give it back. And then she, in turn, gave it back to the lake from whence it came.

“If I’d known you were going to throw it away, I would’ve kept it,” Stefan said.

“I didn’t throw it away,” Maleficent corrected. “I took it home. As I’m going to do for you.”

See? Nary a curse thrown. And Stefan and Maleficent took that awkward beginning and turned it into an unlikely friendship. As they grew older, it became something more. They shared a kiss—a kiss, Stefan told her, of true love.

But life has a way of bending us, fraying us, twisting us out of shape. Our disappointments mount, our hurts gather. Sometimes, something in us breaks.

Tensions between Maleficent’s strange little land and its neighboring kingdom continued to mount. Wars were started. Stefan stopped coming around. Then one day, there he was again—bringing a word of warning and a hand of friendship. And Maleficent was grateful. For an afternoon, it felt like she had her friend back. So secure she felt with her old pal that when he offered her a drink from his flask, she took it.

And she fell asleep in his arms.

When she awoke, her wings were gone, taken by the man she loved. Her body was broken. Her heart was crushed. And in the shards and fissures of her fractured soul, something else began to fill the spaces—a venomous mortar, cementing together a new, dark Maleficent. And by the time she casts a spell on Stefan’s newborn daughter, Aurora—sentencing her to a deathlike sleep from the prick of a needle—those horns on her head had come to look oh so fitting.

[ Spoilers are contained in the following sections. ]

Positive Elements

You might’ve guessed by now that Maleficent is quite different from the tale we’re familiar with in Disney’s 1959 film Sleeping Beauty . One of Disney’s most memorable villains becomes a much more complex, more human figure here.

Despite appearances, this fearsome fairy is far from being bad to the bone. Sure, she curses Aurora and calls the little girl a beastie . But when the infant squalls in hunger, it’s Maleficent’s raven that feeds her (while Aurora’s clueless caretakers plop raw veggies in her crib). Maleficent saves an older Aurora, too, from tumbling off a cliff. She watches the girl throughout her childhood, in fact, always professing the greatest disdain but betraying a strangely maternal instinct. Her influence is so great that when a much older Aurora sees Maleficent for the first time, the young woman calls the older woman her fairy godmother—recognizing her instantly by her shadow.

A strange relationship forms, and Maleficent becomes the closest thing Aurora has to a mother—which, naturally, makes Maleficent feel awful about the whole curse thing. She tries to remove it, but the strength of her own magic makes that impossible. So she sets about doing what she can to mitigate it—shepherding a prince into the castle to provide “true love’s kiss” or, if that doesn’t work, striving to keep the sleeping princess safe. She sacrifices a great deal for the girl. And in the end, Maleficent—this grandest of Disney villains—proves to be the movie’s most heroic character.

Aurora is blessed with a generous and gregarious spirit, and she loves and appreciates everyone she runs into. Prince Phillip, for his part, seems quite the chivalrous chap, even wondering if it’s appropriate to kiss a girl (especially a sleeping girl) whom he’s just met. And Aurora’s fairy guardians … well, at least they mean well.

Spiritual Elements

Maleficent is saturated in magic—a wizardry familiar to almost all fairy tales. Unlike the 1959 movie, where Maleficent seems explicitly linked to the forces of evil, the titular character in this movie wields a more Narnian sort of magic, twisted into its evil shape by her own twisted heart. She can make things levitate, turn beasts into people (or other beasts) and has control over the woods themselves (crafting a thorny barrier between her kingdom and the human realm). Someone sees Maleficent and says, “It’s a demon!”

Aurora’s three fairy protectors (Knotgrass, Flittle and Thistletwit) are also magical; we see them bestow blessings on the baby Aurora and then disguise themselves as human peasants. It’s worth noting that Aurora is cursed at her christening, a ceremony with explicitly Christian connotations (which includes infant baptism).

Sexual Content

As mentioned, Maleficent and Stefan share a kiss. Prince Phillip plants that now famous true love’s kiss on the sleeping Aurora.

Violent Content

This flick is, in a way, a war movie—and darker than you might expect. In one battle, men are routed by monsters made of wood and root, who smash and throw their adversaries around. (Some unfortunates seem to be taken down into the earth by gigantic root serpents.) In another, men set fire to Maleficent’s fearsome wall of thorns. But the thorns themselves come alive to attack and force the guys to flee. A dragon blasts fire at soldiers and is himself brutally subdued with swords, spears and chains. Encountering a handful of soldiers in the forest, Maleficent turns her faithful raven into a really scary wolf (slavering and growling), then levitates the soldiers—sending them flying into trees and one another. Folks are choked.

One would assume that fatalities would arise from these sorts of encounters, but it’s hard to be sure. There’s little blood to speak of, and only one person is definitively killed in battle—plunging from a huge tower to fall onto the cobblestones below. (We see a crumpled body.) Two others die offscreen.

Maleficent is extraordinarily sensitive to iron. It burns her badly, and we see the marks (which quickly fade) appear on her skin at times. Stefan makes the most of this weakness, forcing her to walk through a barrier of sharp iron spikes, struggle with an iron net (which is dropped on her) and, of course, fight iron-bedecked people carrying iron shields and weapons. He nearly used an iron knife to kill her while she sleeps, but decides he can’t do it and cuts off her wings instead. (We don’t see the mutilation, only the stumps. The wings are then displayed as a trophy of war.)

Aurora pricks her finger, of course, and we see a bit of blood. Fairies get into comical slapping, pushing, hair-pulling fights. A bird, trapped in a net, is nearly killed by soldiers.

Crude or Profane Language

Drug and alcohol content.

Stefan tricks Maleficent into drinking a powerful sedative.

Maleficent is a tricky little movie for Plugged In to review. The violence is dark and jarring—a bit extreme for a modern PG-rated film. And it’s saturated with all sorts of magic, which’ll make it a complete nonstarter for some Christian families. For those who can’t push away the Maleficent we meet in Disney’s 1959 film—one who named herself “the mistress of all evil” and who explicitly called on the “powers of hell” to aid her—the transition to this version can feel dissonant. Viscerally, we don’t always want to see our “favorite” villains redeemed.

But redeemed she is. And it’s a pretty stylish redemption.

When we first meet Maleficent, as mentioned, she’s just a nice little girl who happens to have horns and wings. And it’s telling that when she loses her wings—symbols, perhaps, of the better angels of her own nature—she turns bad. She grieves their loss, as would we. Most of us know what it feels like to have something taken from us unfairly. It’s terrible, and how much more so if it’s a physical part of us. We all know the temptation to let that hurt fester until it becomes something else: bitterness, anger, an obsession with vengeance.

Augustine of Hippo tells us that evil is not a thing in itself: It is a hole, a corruption of something God originally wanted to be good—a twist or a tear or a blot on its original design. Darkness is the absence of light. Cold is the absence of heat. Maleficent suffers greatly in the absence of her wings—a painful mangling of her true self. The loss of those wings physically corrupts her, and the loss corrupts her soul too.

But here’s the beautiful thing: As evil as Maleficent becomes, there is still part of her original nature—her original design—wedged deep inside. And the only thing that can find it is love. Someone loving her, yes, but more importantly, the process of loving that someone—Aurora—back.

Maleficent isn’t the easiest person to love. But, then again, neither are we. And in our real world, Jesus loves us dearly no matter what. His love for us helps make us more lovable—and love others better in return. Love Him in return.

Maleficent shows us, in her world, that love is far more powerful than any sort of magic she wields or iron that Stefan swings. The love of a mother is particularly strong—and that is what Maleficent becomes. Not Aurora’s biological mother, of course, but her adoptive mother, who loves her with a ferocious gentleness that is touching to behold.

Maleficent, when she allowed for an antidote to Aurora’s curse—true love’s kiss—was being her evil self. She believed then that “there is no such thing.” Stefan taught her so. And yet she learns that love is real and beautiful and powerful, just like we read in the Bible. With love, true love, no one is beyond saving. Not Aurora. Not Maleficent. Not even us.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Maleficent review – Angelina Jolie adds vinegar to salty Sleeping Beauty spin-off

H er name is a sort of mix of malevolent, magnificent, beneficent and maybe Millicent, the flapper played by Julie Andrews in Thoroughly Modern Millie. This is another in that emerging post-Wicked genre, the revisionist-backstory fairytale. Angelina Jolie is the wicked witch (she turns out to be named Maleficent) in Sleeping Beauty, who puts a terrible spell on the infant princess, the one about pricking her finger on a spinning wheel. But how did that witch get to be so wicked? Did she start out wicked? Was she, in point of fairytale fact, quite as wicked as all that? This new story explains that maybe if she hadn't had her heart broken by a certain royal someone back in the day, she wouldn't be so mean.

Jolie's face has been digitally tweaked to bring out its edges and planes and her cheekbones are razor sharp. Maleficent has horns (not necessarily evil ones), a dark head-dress that may or may not be physically part of her head, and a sharp, bony ring that makes it look, from a distance, as if she is always smoking a fag. Elle Fanning plays the sweet-natured princess, who is entirely upstaged by Jolie.

Her performance has a vinegary touch of panto, something to compare with her role as Alexander the Great's mum in Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004) and Grendel's mum in Robert Zemeckis's Beowulf (2007). I'd forgotten what a fierce screen presence Jolie is: she is becoming the Sophia Loren of our age. Now I want to see her in a grownup film.

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Maleficent: mistress of evil, common sense media reviewers.

Powerful queens go to war in intense, dark fantasy sequel.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Everyone is capable of change, and individuals don

Maleficent loves Aurora and raises her to be queen

War between the fae and humans leads to mass destr

Aurora and Philip kiss and embrace several times.

Snarky insults: "You reek of humans," "humans are

No product placement in the movie, but there are o

Adults drink wine in goblets at a meal. Philip ask

Parents need to know that Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is the even darker sequel to Maleficent , Disney's live-action retelling of Sleeping Beauty. After Aurora (Elle Fanning) becomes engaged to Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson), his mother, Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer), threatens not…

Positive Messages

Everyone is capable of change, and individuals don't have to play into their reputations or their darker natures. Reinvention and rediscovery are possible. On the other hand, Queen Ingrith's take on letting lies take hold until they're believed by a critical mass is negative -- but important. Empathy, collaboration, and teamwork are promoted.

Positive Role Models

Maleficent loves Aurora and raises her to be queen of the Moors. Aurora is guileless and loves her godmother, her Moorfolk subjects, and her fiancé, who is a kind and generous young prince. Conall, like King John, believes in peace and in striving for coexistence, not war.

Violence & Scariness

War between the fae and humans leads to mass destruction and near-genocide of fae via poisonous concoction that turns fae into dust (think Avengers : Infinity War ) or lifeless plants. Humans also kill fae with iron-based weapons/arrows. Humans are captured in the faerie forest. Screams. One beloved character sacrifices herself for the good of the fae. Someone curses the king. Maleficent is grievously injured twice; once, she technically dies. Aurora is injured and hurt.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Aurora and Philip kiss and embrace several times. A powerful warrior fae smells Maleficent in what seems like a sensual way but it's repulsion at her scent of humans. Another dark fae saves Maleficent, carries her, looks at her lovingly, protects her. Two little fairy creatures hold hands, kiss on the cheek.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Snarky insults: "You reek of humans," "humans are hilarious," "show them no mercy," etc.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

No product placement in the movie, but there are off-screen promotional tie-ins to Maleficent-themed merchandise, including apparel, toys, accessories, and games.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults drink wine in goblets at a meal. Philip asks for "more wine" during a tense dinner. A lethal powdery concoction is used to poison and kill the fae.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is the even darker sequel to Maleficent , Disney's live-action retelling of Sleeping Beauty . After Aurora ( Elle Fanning ) becomes engaged to Prince Philip ( Harris Dickinson ), his mother, Queen Ingrith ( Michelle Pfeiffer ), threatens not only Maleficent ( Angelina Jolie ) but all of the Moorfolk. The fantasy violence is more intense here than in the first film: Frightening sequences include war, mass destruction, and a near-genocide of the fae/fairy folk (think Avengers: Infinity War -like deaths). Characters are seriously injured, and one beloved character sacrifices herself. At one point it seems like no one will get to live, much less find a "happily ever after." Characters drink wine, and romance includes a few kisses, embraces, and some longing looks -- but it's the love between mother and daughter that's really at the core of this story. Themes also include empathy, collaboration, and teamwork, as well as the possibility of reinvention and rediscovery. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (29)
• Kids say (52)

Based on 29 parent reviews

Mass Genocide!!??

It satisfies enough..., what's the story.

MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL is the sequel to Disney's popular 2014 Sleeping Beauty retelling , reuniting Angelina Jolie as dark godmother Maleficent and Elle Fanning as the lovely Aurora, queen of the Moors and all its fae/fairy folk. The bond between the two women is tested when Aurora accepts a proposal from her beloved Prince Philip ( Harris Dickinson ) of neighboring Ulstead. When Philip's mother, Queen Ingrith ( Michelle Pfeiffer ), demands that Aurora and Maleficent attend a celebratory family engagement dinner at Ulstead castle, Maleficent tries to be cordial -- until Ingrith openly insults her and the Moorfolk. In a moment of chaos, King John (Robert Lindsay) appears to be cursed by Maleficent, so Ingrith declares war on the Moorfolk. Meanwhile, Maleficent flees and is nearly shot down, only to be saved by fellow winged dark fae who've been hiding from humans for generations. Maleficent must decide whether to join her fellow fae to fight or to seek peace with the humans.

Is It Any Good?

Fabulous costumes, vibrant art direction, and the on-screen dueling of two Hollywood queens -- Jolie and Pfeiffer -- save this from being another uneven, unnecessary sequel. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is even darker and more violent than its predecessor. The manner in which Moorfolk are killed is as chilling as the disturbing moments in Avengers: Infinity War or War of the Worlds. But the brief scenes in the Moors, with its various fae creatures, are still enchanting for younger audiences. The romance, already established, isn't swoon-worthy here, but at least the future in-law troubles drive the paper-thin storyline.

Pfeiffer stands out as Ingrith, who's unwilling to entertain the prospect of peace with Maleficent and the fae. She's at her best as an ice queen mother-in-law with a penchant for war. Jolie is always a treat, but the subplot involving her original people is underwhelming, even with the always wonderful Chiwetel Ejiofor as one of the two dark fae vying for Maleficent's attention (the other, played by Ed Skrein, is a smarmy warmonger). The cast is stronger than the screenplay, so -- given the ( spoiler alert ) presumed happily ever after ending -- audiences may be left thinking/hoping that this is the last of the Maleficent films, but not the last of Jolie and Pfeiffer working together.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil . How much violence can younger kids handle? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

How is the idea of love explored in the movie? Are there are kinds of "true love" other than romance? Which characters have a loving relationship, and which don't?

How does Aurora demonstrate empathy ? What other character strengths are depicted in the movie?

Do you think there should be another sequel, or do you feel this particular story is resolved?

Movie Details

• In theaters : October 18, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : January 14, 2020
• Cast : Angelina Jolie , Elle Fanning , Michelle Pfeiffer
• Director : Joachim Ronning
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More
• Character Strengths : Empathy , Teamwork
• Run time : 118 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : intense sequences of fantasy action/violence and brief scary images
• Last updated : February 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Where to watch.

Watch Maleficent: Mistress of Evil with a subscription on Disney+, rent on Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

What to Know

While it's far from cursed, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil too rarely supports its impressive cast and visuals with enough magical storytelling to justify its existence.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Joachim Rønning

Angelina Jolie

Elle Fanning

Harris Dickinson

Prince Phillip

Michelle Pfeiffer

Queen Ingrith

Movie Clips

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Maleficent: Mistress of Evil delivers Mamma Mia! for Game of Thrones fans

Angelina Jolie returns as one of Disney’s greatest villains

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The first Maleficent movie wrapped up the revisionist history of one of Disney’s biggest villains, turning Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) into a tragic figure and true love’s kiss into an expression of maternal love. Disney’s sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil , gets around the problem that there’s no real story by shedding almost every connection to the original Sleeping Beauty , crossing high fantasy with hijinks-filled romantic comedy, and adding in just a sprinkle of self-insert wish fulfillment.

Last we saw, the fairy and human kingdoms were peacefully united by Aurora (Elle Fanning), whose lineage from a fairy (god-)mother, Maleficent and a now-deceased human father (Sharlto Copley) bridged the gap. Mistress of Evil , directed by Joachim Rønning ( Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest ), adds another human kingdom to make peace with for the sake of a teensy more geopolitical conflict.

When Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson), a pair of cheekbones granted human life, proposes to Aurora, Maleficent is invited to dinner to meet his parents, King John (Robert Lindsay) and Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer). Showing off some of the clearest villain signalling since Michael Keaton in Dumbo — long pauses have never been so sinister — Ingrith gets the fairy queen so riled up that dinner turns into yet another tale of Maleficent’s balefulness. John falls ill and the kingdom immediately takes up arms.

The movie’s rom-com-isms soon fall away to make room for more typical fantasy epic hijinks, albeit with the kind of clunky political signalling familiar to anyone who endured Bright . Ingrith wants to wipe out the fairies — who, in one of the film’s better visual tricks, “die” by reverting into the inanimate objects that inspired them — and the attempted genocide is a little more frightening than you’d expect from Disney fare. Watching a room full of creatures struggle as they’re bombarded with poison powder feels more akin to a war movie than it probably should.

Good intentions (or maybe just ambition) don’t smooth over the way that the remnants of the dark fae — Maleficent’s kin, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ed Skrein with horns and wings — are coded to symbolize all people of color and similarly marginalized groups. Aurora, Phillip, Ingrith and other “humans” in the film are otherwise Eurocentric, leaning into a colonialist and imperialist narrative that is maybe a little too easily tied up by the end of the film. There’s even a character who briefly touches upon the sometimes-difficult nature of regime collaborators. It’s heavy material for a children’s fantasy film to tackle, which makes it unsurprisingly that it doesn’t really manage to do it well.

The political themes are pointed but unwieldy, unlike the rom-com elements of the film, which are superbly done fluff. Jolie cuts a striking figure as Maleficent, and dispenses the character’s sly bon mots with a campy, cartoonish glee that fits perfectly with her 2D origins. Simply put, she’s funny, practicing her “hello” by watching her reflection in a pond so she doesn’t end up scaring Phillip’s parents, or needling her right-hand man, the raven-turned-human Diaval (Sam Riley).

Pfeiffer doesn’t have any comic material to work with, but commits fully to villainy, serving as a perfect foil to Jolie; her performance is sharp where Jolie’s is smooth, devoting the dangerous energy she had as Catwoman to making declarations of war. There’s something delightful about watching the two of them, world-weary women who have lived long enough not to trust blindly in other people, try to deal with the naïveté of their respective children, rolling their eyes when they once again suggest true love as a panacea. (Based on the title, it should come as no surprise that Phillip and Aurora are zeroes.)

The separate parts of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil don’t quite gel together, with the back half departing from cheerful Disney territory to the fan vision of a Maleficent devotee’s DeviantArt page. So many fairy variants (fae from tropical regions have macaw wings, which, fine), so many shots of Maleficent that could serve as Evanescence album covers. The film is still, however, leaps and bounds more imaginative than most other recent live-action Disney fare, packed with strange creatures and fun performances that at least distract from (if not alleviate) the film’s clumsy attempts at political allegory.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil opens in theaters on Oct. 18.

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If looks could kill, Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent could lay waste to armies. Jolie, with cool wings, a red scar for lips and cheekbones that could cut concrete, sure as hell has the bearing to play a classic evil bitch in Disney’s rethinking of Sleeping Beauty . If only looks were everything. But this soulless summer timekiller is empty inside. Debuting director Robert Stromberg has two Oscars for art direction ( Avatar, Alice in Wonderland ) and it shows. The downside is that Maleficent is nothing more than a diorama disguised as a movie, a flimsy cardboard thingie that feels untouched by human hands. The idea behind the script by Linda Woolverton ( Beauty and the Beast ) is that Maleficent is really a secret softie. She’s been done wrong by a dude named Stefan (Sharlto Copley at his creepiest), who takes advantage of her innocence and later cuts off her wings so he can steal her magic land, marry the daughter of the King and wear the crown himself. Men—those rat bastards! No wonder Maleficent puts a curse on Stefan’s baby girl, Aurora. At 16, Aurora (Elle Fanning, smiling prettily and for no reason) will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a coma. Many audience members around me looked similarly afflicted. I can relate. By the time Maleficent, aided by her shape-shifting bff Diaval (Sam Riley), is through playing fairy godmother with the help of three incompetent pixies (Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton and Juno Temple need to fire their agents), Aurora is ready to join her spirit mom Maleficent in revenge against Big Daddy. The twink of a prince (Brenton Thwaites) is little more than an afterthought. Even the true love’s kiss that can awaken Aurora takes a feminist slant. Jolie comes to this party ready to bite, but the movie muzzles her. Even at 97 minutes, Maleficent is still one long, laborious slog.

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• REVIEW: <i>Maleficent</i>: Sympathy for the Rebel

REVIEW: Maleficent : Sympathy for the Rebel

T his one had all the makings: a famed Disney villainess played by Hollywood’s’ most infernally glamorous star; a script by the screenwriter of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast , The Lion King and the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland ; direction by the Oscar-winning production designer of Avatar — all in the service of reimagining a beloved fairy tale with a true-love twist. What could possibly go wrong?

Nearly everything, in Maleficent , a revisionist “origins story” of the sorceress in Disney’s 1959 animated feature Sleeping Beauty . Except for Angelina Jolie, exemplary as the fairy badmother who laid a narcotic curse on an infant princess, this pricey live-action drama is a dismaying botch. Robert Stromberg, the expert draftsman in his debut as director, has no mastery of casting and guiding actors, little sense of narrative pace or build and — the big, sad surprise — a leaden sense of visualizing Maleficent’s fairyland. Full of spells and transformations, the movie couldn’t be less magical.

Borrowing from the novel and Broadway musical Wicked , which gave a redemptive backstory to The Wizard of Oz’ s Witch of the West, scriptwriter Linda Woolverton argues that the young Maleficent (Isobelle Molloy as a child, Ella Purnell as a teen) was a sweet, grave girl — an elfin aristocrat who, in other circumstances, might have grown up to be a wise queen like Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings . But instead of Aragorn she met the human Stefan (Michael Higgins as a boy, Jackson Bews as a teen and Sharlto Copley as an adult). This dashing lad won Maleficent’s love and, ambition overwhelming ardor, clipped and stole her wings to become the king of a neighboring realm. Bastard!

To revenge herself on the man who unleashed her Wicked side, Maleficent barges into the christening of King Stefan’s daughter Aurora and proclaims her famous curse: that on the girl’s 16th birthday she will prick her finger on a sewing-wheel needle and fall into a coma, breakable only by “true love’s kiss.” The King sends the infant into the Witness Protection program of three nattering fairies (Isabelle Staunton, Lesley Manville and Juno Temple) whose cottage is monitored by Maleficent’s shape-shifting servant Diaval (Sam Riley).

(SEE: 13 Disney Princesses and the Actresses Who Voiced Them )

At first Maleficent thinks the baby is “so ugly you could almost feel sorry for it.” But over the years in the forest, Aurora grows into a lovely teen (Elle Fanning) who calls Maleficent her fairy godmother. She just might steal — as the woman who cursed her says — “what was left of my heart.” Cared for by three fairies who are, at best, dotty aunts, a girl alone needs a mother figure, and finds it in Maleficent. (Aurora at five is played by the star’s daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt.) The warmth she can provide is chilled by the knowledge that she is the one who, long ago, doomed her one loving alliance.

Producer Joe Roth — who also shepherded the live-action versions of Alice in Wonderland and Oz the Great and Powerful through Disney, and Snow White and the Huntsman at Universal — rightly recognized Jolie’s kinship to Maleficent, declaring that “There was no point in making the movie if it wasn’t her.” He was alluding to the star’s dominant, regal otherness.

(READ: Corliss on Angelina Jolie in Wanted )

She almost might have been designed in some special-effects shop to play Maleficent. And Rick Baker’s makeup artistry does her and the character proud, with curling, leathery horns and dark diagonal slashes on her cheekbones that sculpt her face into diamond-shaped severity. To the wolf eyes and Morticia Addams pallor, Jolie brings an imperious vocal styling with echoes of Bette Davis. (Eleanor Audley voiced Maleficent in the animated feature.) She is the visual, aural and behavioral embodiment of an otherworldly goddess capable of anything, from poisonous curses to surrogate-mother love.

(READ: The sorry state of mothers in Disney animated features )

Other than Jolie’s grandeur, and a bit of Fanning’s freshness, the movie’s got nothing. It takes its design cue from sword-and-sorcery films in their sepulchral early-’80s phase ( The Dark Crystal , Legend ) but fails at its evocation of enveloping murk. When it tries for lightness of image, with the appearances of fairyland sprites, the creatures are wan, unbeguiling and poorly integrated into the surrounding flora. Lightness of touch is also missing; Maleficent didn’t have to go the parody route of The Princess Bride (which also had a full measure of enchantment), but a little knowing levity would have given the characters life outside of their stereotypes.

Roth and Disney knew their project had problems; they enlisted John Lee Hancock, director of The Blind Side and Saving Mr. Banks , to rework the early scenes and add a ton of narration (voiced by Janet McTeer). Apparently no one could fix the clumsy comedy of the fairy trio, or the minimal impact on Aurora of two royal deaths, and least of all the unfortunate casting of Copley. The South African actor, so comically poignant as the lead in Neil Blomkamp’s District 9 (his first feature role), lacks the traditional skills needed for a fairy-tale hero turned villain. Nor did anyone attend to anomalies in Maleficent’s powers. She can change Diaval into any creature, from crow to dragon, except when, toward the end, she can’t. Her imposing wings get sawed off, until they get magically and capriciously reattached.

(READ: Corliss’s review of Neil Blomkamp’s District 9 )

The Disney people ought to know how to tell this story — of a female with frightening powers, finally battling to save the princess who suffers from her curse — because they just did it. Anyone remember Frozen ? That animated wonder had the forces of good and evil at war in the same character, plus a love story, smart laughs and a hit song that ran through everyone’s internal iPod for months.

(READ: Why Frozen Was Totally Thaw-some )

Maleficent ends with Lana Del Ray singing the original film’s “Once Upon a Dream” (based on Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty waltz) in a droning tone that suits this production. It’s a requiem, a dirge, for a lifeless movie.

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Home » What To Watch

10 Best Movies To Watch On Memorial Day 2024

There's more to memorial day than just a long weekend..

Memorial Day is meant to honour the valiant deeds of the departed troops who gave us the freedom we enjoy today. Apart from engaging in suitable Memorial Day celebrations, viewing movies with military or combat themes might serve as a solemn reminder of the real significance of the occasion.

There are many movies that convey the story of the sacrifices made by members of the military and their families, even though there aren’t many specifically dedicated to Memorial Day. A handful of them touch on other topics, like romance, friendship, and, of course, American life, but the majority are dramas or biopics.

Check out our curated list of movies you can watch this Memorial Day

American sniper (2014).

Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper, this movie is about one of the most lethal shooters in American history, Chris Kyle, a Navy Seal. Kyle has a heartbreaking, triumphant, and loving tale. This is based on a true story and honours the veteran who was sadly killed two years before the release of the film.

Available on: Prime Video

Black Hawk Down

The year is 1993. To help a starving populace, a U.S. Special Forces squad is dispatched to Somalia via helicopters called Black Hawks. Their expectation of a controllable mission is dashed when two U.S. helicopters are shot down by the Somalian forces. They need to retake control of their aircraft and dodge a barrage of gunfire in order to escape.

Available on: Hulu/Tubi

M*A*S*H, a dark comedy about the medical unit of an American encampment during the Korean War, can really lighten the mood. With endless jokes and martini parties, surgeons Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre make the most of their situation. The movie was so successful that it inspired an eleven-season popular television series. (The series is available to stream on Hulu.)

Available on: Apple TV+

Zero Dark Thirty

A powerful and compelling historical drama that tells the tale of Osama bin Laden’s pursuit following the September 11 attacks. This 2013 Best Picture winner, starring Jessica Chastain, chronicles the events leading up to Osama Bin Laden’s demise in May 2011 at the hands of Navy SEALs Team 6.

Available on: Apple TV+/Tubi

The Thin Red Line

Jim Caviezel plays Private Witt in this war drama. Witt is a member of the US Army who lives on a small island in the South Pacific. There, everything is quiet compared to America. After his refuge is found, Witt is compelled to leave the island and train with the American soldiers for the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Based on a historical story, Glory serves as a crucial history lesson. Matthew Broderick plays Col. Robert Gould Shaw, tasked with leading the nation’s first Black regiment in the movie. Three members of the crew are a runaway slave named Trip (Denzel Washington), a junior officer named Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes), and a cunning gravedigger named John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman). Together, they advance and turn into essential warriors in a historic conflict.

Available on: Apple TV

We Were Soldiers

“We Were Soldiers” follows Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) and his soldiers as they battle against overwhelming odds in one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, based on the true story of the Battle of Ia Drang. The movie viscerally shows the violence of conflict and the bonds created during intense fighting. With its realistic action scenes and nuanced depiction of the troops’ lives, We Were Soldiers honours the bravery and sacrifice of those who fought in Vietnam.

Available on: Apple TV+/Pluto TV

Flags Of Our Fathers

Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood, narrates the tale of the six men who raised the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima, a moment immortalized in the picture that became a representation of resilience and optimism. To shed light on the complexity of heroism and the human cost of battle, the film examines the lives of these men before, during, and following the war.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, which takes place in present-day America, tells the linked tales of a grandfather (James Cromwell) and his grandson (Jackson Bond) as they work to solve the mystery surrounding a mysterious box of World War II souvenirs. The film examines family, duty, and the lasting effects of war through flashbacks to the grandfather’s experiences as a young soldier. Through its moving narrative and moving performances, “Memorial Day” presents a moving analysis of the effects of war on successive generations.

Available on: Apple TV+/Roku/Plex/Prime Video

Top Gun: Maverick

Last but not least, Top Gun: Maverick could be the perfect movie choice for you if you love aircraft and speed. A sequel to Top Gun, it is unquestionably among the best movies of the current decade. Pete Mitchell, a top Navy aviator portrayed by Tom Cruise, becomes a pilot instructor who trains the recruits to send them on his most difficult mission. To keep himself and his crew safe, he has to dive deep and face his worst fears.

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Box office preview: Can any new movie crack the Top 5 to help save a weaker-than-usual May?

M ay comes to a close with a quieter weekend full of odds and ends and nothing particularly wide in terms of studio releases. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.

After a fairly disappointing Memorial Day weekend , the month ends with a number of moderately wide releases. Since most of these new films are smaller, few theater counts have been reported, making it tougher to determine how some of them might perform, though it’s likely that only one will be getting a wide enough release to potentially break into the Top 5. Otherwise, we’re looking at a repeat of the Top 4 with the slightest chance that “The Garfield Movie” might pass “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” with few of the new releases targeting family audiences.

The one movie that has the best chance at cracking the Top 5 would probably be Crunchyroll’s latest Anime feature “Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle,” based on Haruichi Furudate ‘s volleyball manga that was turned into an anime series about 10 years back. Anime has been floundering a bit in theaters lately, with Crunchyroll only releasing this one into 1,000 theaters, roughly half what “Spy x Family Code: White” got in April, when it opened with $4.8 million. Because of that, this one will probably open between $3 and $4 million, so it will be battling against some of the returning films for that fifth place slot.

Also this weekend, Bleecker Street releases the Tony Goldwyn -directed family dramedy “Ezra,” starring Bobby Cannavale as stand-up comedian Max, who is having troubles with his autistic son Ezra (newcomer William A. Fitzgerald ), which intensifies when he takes the boy on a cross-country trip to L.A. for an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Also starring Robert De Niro as his father, his actual wife Rose Byrne as his ex-wife, Whoopi Goldberg , and Rainn Wilson , the Toronto International Film Festival premiere received moderately decent reviews , though this doesn’t seem like something that might open with much more than $2 to $3 million, placing it in the low end of the Top 10. 

There also isn’t an early theater count for Chris Nash ‘s Shudder/IFC Films horror movie “In a Violent Nature,” an ultra-gory slasher from the point-of-view of the killer. The movie has received strong notices out of its Sundance premiere and other festival appearances, and IFC is coming off one of its biggest recent hits with “Late Night with the Devil.” Early word-of-mouth from festivals and curiosity about the gory kills (not unlike the popular “Terrifier” series) should drive business to this one for an opening in a similar range as “Ezra,” although again, that would be in the bottom half of the Top 10.

In a rare moderate theatrical release from Disney, Daisy Ridley stars in “Young Woman and the Sea,” a biopic about Trudy Ederle , the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926. Directed by Joachim Rønning (“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”), this might have a harder time finding an audience in the United States, despite Ridley’s fans and the PG rating. Opening in a few hundred theaters or slightly more, this may have problems even getting into the low end of the Top 10, but word-of-mouth should be good.

SEE  Grab the popcorn and sound off in our movie forums

Furthermore, Roadside Attractions is giving a wide release into roughly 1,500 theaters to the comedy “Summer Camp,” starring Diane Keaton , Kathy Bates , Alfre Woodard , Eugene Levy , Betsy Sodaro , Dennis Haysbert , and Beverly D’Angelo , following a group of older women who reunite at their old summer camp. This is trying to capitalize on the success of movies like “80 for Brady” and “Book Club” (from the same producers), geared towards older women, who aren’t exactly flocking to theaters. This one probably won’t even get into the Top 10 as it struggles to make $1 million or slightly more this weekend.

There are plenty of limited releases this weekend, including Thea Hvistendahl ‘s Norwegian zombie drama “Handling the Undead,” starring Renate Reinsve from “The Worst Person in the World.” Viggo Mortensen wrote, directed and stars in the Western “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” co-starring Vicky Krieps (“Phantom Thread”). And finally, Pablo Berger ‘s Oscar-nominated animated feature “Robot Dreams” will open at a couple theaters in New York on Friday, a wonderful tale about a dog and the robot companion he buys. It will expand to L.A. next weekend and hopefully into more areas in June.

Check back on Sunday to see how the above movies do, but the month of May might as well be over already.

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• A vengeful fairy is driven to curse an infant princess, only to discover that the child could be the one person who can restore peace to their troubled land.
• A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until the day an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal--an act that turns her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces a battle with the invading king's successor; as a result she places a curse upon his newborn daughter Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom--and perhaps to Maleficent's true happiness as well. — Walt Disney Pictures
• Reared in the enchanted forests of the Moors--the magical realm on the outskirts of a rival human kingdom--Maleficent, the magnificent winged fairy of pure heart, experiences for the first time the intoxicating effect of a youthful romance. But, soon, the frail age of innocence will come to an end--and as a despicable act of betrayal blemishes forever the young sprite's sensitive soul--an all-powerful dark Maleficent emerges; the mighty defender of the Moors. Now, bitterness, anger, and a rabid desire for retribution fill the void in Maleficent's heart--no one is safe from harm; especially the king's newborn daughter, Aurora, who must suffer for the sins of her father. Once, a cherished one used the healing force of noble feelings against Maleficent. Could now true love stop the Mistress of All Evil? — Nick Riganas
• Maleficent once ruled the moors with a kind heart, but everything changes for her when she befriends Stefan. Their friendship becomes an inseparable one, but everything changes for Maleficent when Stefan betrays her by cutting her wings off and Henry crowns Stefan as his successor to the throne and he is married to Leila, who becomes his queen. When Maleficent learns about what Stefan did to her through Diaval, she becomes angry and she vows revenge on her former friend. Maleficent soon learns that Stefan and Leila's newborn daughter, Aurora, is being christened. During the ceremony, Maleficent curses Aurora in order to make Stefan suffer, but the curse will be lifted by true love. Stefan tasks Knotgrass, Flittle, and Thistlewit to take care of Aurora. It becomes apparent that the pixies cannot take care of the young princess, Maleficent and Divial start to take care of Aurora in secret without the pixies noticing. By the time Aurora grows up, she begins to view Maleficent as her godmother, causing the dark fey to develop a change of heart. Maleficent will soon realize that Aurora is the only person who can bring peace and harmony to the moors and the kingdom. — dawsonpersi
• Long ago, two rival kingdoms sat side by side: the human kingdom, ruled by a power-hungry king, and the Moors, a peaceful place inhabited by many gentle supernatural creatures. One resident of the Moors is Maleficent (Isobelle Molloy), a young fairy girl with enormous wings, who acts as a guardian for the other magical beings. Young Maleficent is alerted by three small fairies, Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton), Flittle (Lesley Manville), and Thistlewit (Juno Temple), that a thief has been apprehended by the forest guards at the Moors' border. The thief, a human boy called Stefan, returns the jewel he had taken and explains that he is an orphan with no real home. Maleficent forgives him and the two strike up a friendship that lasts for several years. On Maleficent's sixteenth birthday, Stefan gives her "true love's kiss," but then abandons her to pursue his thirst for power in the King's inner circle. When Maleficent is grown (now Angelina Jolie), she is the primary guardian of the Moors. King Henry (Kenneth Cranham) leads his army to conquer the Moors for the human world, but Maleficent victoriously counter-attacks with her band of magical creatures. King Henry is mortally wounded in the battle, and makes known his hatred for the winged woman who defends the Moors. Having only a daughter for an heir, King Henry promises her hand and the throne to whichever of his men brings proof of Maleficent's death. Stefan (now Sharlto Copley), despite his relationship with Maleficent, takes on the task in hopes of becoming the new king. Stefan returns to the Moors at night and reconnects with Maleficent, who is happy and not at all suspicious to see her friend again. After giving her a drink to put her into a sound sleep, Stefan prepares to stab her to death. Unable to bring himself to kill the woman he once loved, he crudely removes her wings as she slumbers and then departs. When Maleficent awakens, weak with the pain from her severed wings and realizing she had been betrayed, she swears revenge against Stefan. On his deathbed, King Henry accepts the wings as proof of Maleficent's demise and awards the crown and his daughter's hand to Stefan. Having lost her ability to fly, Maleficent frees a captured raven in a nearby field and gives him the power to transform into a man. She recruits this raven-man, Diaval (Sam Riley) to serve as her "wings" in exchange for having saved his life. She declares herself ruler of the Moors, infusing her surroundings with dark magic and pitting herself once and for all against Stefan, ruler of the human kingdom. While spying on Stefan's palace, Diaval overhears the royal staff speak of the baby girl just born to the King and Queen. He hurries to relay the news to Maleficent, who sees an opportunity for revenge. She attends the child's christening ceremony uninvited and bestows a curse on the princess: Before the sun sets on Princess Aurora's sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an eternal death-like sleep. As an added insult to Stefan, Maleficent snidely remarks that the only possible restoration to life is "true love's kiss." Stefan begs Maleficent to reconsider, even falling to his knees at her request, but she is too happy at having avenged her mistreatment to show mercy. After leaving the court in chaos, Maleficent causes a massive wall of thick-thorned trees to surround the Moors and keep humans at bay. Stefan orders all spinning wheels in the kingdom to be destroyed and stored in the castle dungeon, and sends his infant daughter to be raised by the three fairies in the forest in hopes of avoiding the curse. Knotgrass, Flittle, and Thistlewit are easily distracted and have difficulty supervising Aurora as she grows, but the princess is kept safe by Maleficent's curse, which rules that she must stay alive until her sixteenth birthday. Maleficent and Diaval keep a semi-distant watch over Aurora throughout her childhood, coming in contact a few times but never revealing her identity. Aurora grows into a pretty teenager (Elle Fanning), with no inkling of her royal roots or Maleficent's curse. As Aurora's sixteenth birthday nears, Stefan falls deeper into paranoia. The Queen is dying, and he knows Maleficent will return on the day the curse is set to culminate. He keeps her severed wings in a glass cabinet in an isolated wing of the palace. He becomes more and more detached from reality, having long rambling "conversations" with the wings and is deaf to any subject other than Maleficent. He sends his men to hunt her down before Aurora's birthday. Maleficent begins to admit that her hatred for Stefan does not extend to Aurora. Emerging from the blind rage she felt when the princess was a baby, Maleficent now sees that Aurora is a good, innocent person undeserving of such a harsh fate. Feeling guilty, she puts a temporary sleeping spell on the girl and transports her into the Moors. When Aurora wakes, she is enchanted by the beautiful fairy kingdom and shows no fear when Maleficent makes her presence known. Aurora happily explains that she recognizes Maleficent from several incidents in her childhood and believes Maleficent is her fairy godmother. Without explaining the truth, Maleficent spends the evening getting to know the victim of her own curse. After returning Aurora to her cottage home to sleep, Maleficent attempts to retract the curse, but she had made it too powerful to be undone. Diaval reminds her that true love's kiss can still break the spell, but Maleficent admits she added it as a false hope because she believed it did not exist. On the eve of Aurora's fateful birthday, Maleficent speaks with her about an evil that she is unable to protect her from. Aurora remains optimistic, and announces her wish to live in the Moors with her "fairy godmother." While preparing to break the news to her "aunties" (the three fairies who raised her), Aurora encounters Prince Phillip (Brenton Thwaites), who asks her for directions, though both are awkwardly stunned by their mutual attraction. After their brief meeting, Aurora delivers her news to the fairies, who, in their shock, let slip Aurora's true parentage and the details of Maleficent's curse. Horrified, Aurora rushes to the Moors to confront Maleficent, who sadly admits the truth. Aurora, now frightened and untrusting, returns to the human kingdom. That night, Princess Aurora is finally returned to her father. They share a brief emotional reunion before Stefan orders his daughter locked away for her own protection. Back in the Moors, Maleficent prepares a last-ditch attempt to stop the curse. She and Diaval journey toward the palace and encounter Prince Phillip, who remembers meeting Aurora and is recruited to provide "true love's kiss" to save her. Maleficent casts a sleeping charm on the rather confused prince, and whisks him away through the forest, hoping to get to Aurora before the curse unfolds. As Aurora's birthday progresses and night begins to fall, she feels a strange sensation in her finger and hears a eerie voice calling her name. In a trance-like state, Aurora follows the disembodied voice through the palace until she enters the dungeon, containing piles of broken and burnt spinning wheels. She approaches a materializing spinning wheel and spindle and pricks her finger on it, drawing blood. A moment later, she sinks to the floor in a deep sleep. Aurora is carried back to her chambers and laid on the bed. Stefan is enraged, blaming the three fairies for failing to protect his daughter. Maleficent and Diaval manage to infiltrate the palace with the unconscious Prince Phillip, who is woken at the door of Aurora's bedroom. The three fairies, guarding the sleeping princess, encourage Phillip to try and wake Aurora with true love's kiss, but since the two are not yet in love, the effort fails. Heartbroken, Maleficent approaches Aurora's bed and apologizes for her actions, promising to protect her as she sleeps. Maleficent kisses Aurora on the forehead and is both shocked and elated to find that the spell had been broken through the power of her own maternal love for the princess. Aurora realizes how much Maleficent cares for her, and begins to trust her again. A guard reports to Stefan that Maleficent was spotted in the castle. The royal guards ambush her and attack when she leaves Aurora's room. Maleficent orders Aurora to run to safety before transforming Diaval into an enormous dragon and beginning her showdown against Stefan. While searching for something to aid Maleficent, Aurora discovers the severed wings in the glass cupboard. The wings, sensing the presence of their mistress, being to flap violently until Aurora frees them. The wings fly to Maleficent and re-attach themselves to her moments before Stefan delivers a fatal blow. Maleficent rises above her attackers, but Stefan loops a chain around her leg and clings to it as she pulls him out a window and onto one of the palace towers. Maleficent attempts to end the fight without any fatalities, but Stefan attacks her once more, sending them both plummeting off the tower. Maleficent takes flight and Stefan falls to his death, a victim of his own unrelenting desire for power and revenge. Maleficent soon undoes the dark magic in the Moors, restoring its former light and beauty. The Moors and the human kingdom are now united, and Aurora is crowned Queen of both kingdoms. Prince Phillip and Aurora continue their romance, and Maleficent, now free from the chains of her vengeful thoughts, lives happily among the peaceful creatures of the Moors, and flies happily through the skies with Diaval.

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‘The Garfield Movie’ Review: Beloved Feline Loses His Sarcastic Growl in Product Placement-Heavy Origin Story

Chris Pratt voices the famed orange tabby in a generic, if pleasantly animated narrative that misunderstands the characteristics that make Jim Davis’ Garfield a singularly attractive character.

By Carlos Aguilar

Carlos Aguilar

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The lasagna-obsessed feline with a near-pathological aversion to Mondays, who first came into popular consciousness in the late ‘70s as a comic strip, is a diluted version of himself in “ The Garfield Movie .” Not only is his suave apathy mostly replaced by an excessive excitedness with only sporadic glimpses of his endearingly negative qualities, but this Garfield jumps off trains, stages a heist, and is subjected to trite physical comedy by way of numerous predictable action sequences. The ordeal mimics a rehashed plot from the dull “The Secret Life of Pets” franchise with Garfield forcefully plugged in.

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Devised to function as an origin story, “The Garfield Movie” introduces Vic (Samuel L. Jackson), the father who, in this interpretation of his story, abandoned Garfield as a kitten. The burly cat, who doesn’t exist in this form in other “Garfield” media, reappears in his life when a cookie-cutter villain, Jinx (Hannah Waddingham) and her equally unoriginal dog henchmen coerce him to steal over 1000 gallons of milk from a dairy farm/theme park.

The demand serves as retribution for the time Jinx spend in the pound after a failed robbery with Vic. The screenwriters (Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove, and David Reynolds) further burden the narrative by spending multiple scenes and even flashbacks (done in an interesting 2D, illustration style) on supporting characters that feel superimposed to elicit emotional resonance. The main culprit is Otto (Ving Rhames), a self-possessed bull banished from the farm and unable to see his beloved cow girlfriend.

In defense of director Mark Dindal, who helmed Disney’s “The Emperor’s New Groove” and “Chicken Little,” and his animation team, the cartoony facial expressions and realistic fur in this Garfield find an aesthetically pleasing middle ground between his hand-drawn version and those done in CGI for the big screen adventures and later for a late 2000s-2010s TV program “The Garfield Show.” The graphic look of “The Garfield Movie” calls to mind how the now defunct studio BlueSky approached their adaptation of the “Peanuts” characters. Caught in the nonstop boisterousness that consumes most of the running time, one could easily forget that the opening sequence, which benefits from limited lines, where an adorable, big-eyed baby Garfield first meets John is an engaging departure point. If only the creators would have stuck with the quotidian tribulations that best befit Garfield rather than opting for high-stakes stunts that betray him. The result is more a generic product in search of fleeting mass appeal than a work invested in Garfield as a unique character.

Reviewed at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles, May 19, 2024. MPA Rating: PG. Running time: 101 MIN.

• Production: (Animated) A Columbia Pictures release of an Alcon Entertainment, Double Negative, One Cool Group, Paws, Prime Focus, Stars Collective Films Entertainment Group, Wayfarer Studios production. Producers: John Cohen, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Namit Malhotra, Craig Sost, Steven P. Wegner.
• Crew: Director: Mark Dindal. Screenplay: Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove, David Reynolds. Editor: Mark Keefer. Music: John Debney.
• With: Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, Snoop Dogg, Dev Joshi.

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Disneyland | Old school ‘Fantasmic’ returns to…

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Disneyland | old school ‘fantasmic’ returns to disneyland with massive crowds, review: the what’s-old-is-new-again version of the nighttime spectacular is like seeing an old friend for the first time in more than a year..

“ Fantasmic ” returned to the Rivers of America at the Anaheim theme park on Friday, May 24 after a yearlong hiatus caused by a towering inferno that engulfed the show’s signature fire-breathing audio-animatronic dragon in April 2023.

ALSO SEE: ‘Fantasmic’ viewers guide for return of Disneyland nighttime spectacular

The not-so-new scenes in the returning show included Peter Pan, Captain Hook and a band of scurvy pirates on the Sailing Ship Columbia last seen in 2017 and a 35-foot-tall Maleficent on a cleverly disguised scissor lift not seen on a regular basis since 2009.

The “Fantasmic” faithful came out in droves for the first show in 13 months and overwhelmed the viewing area along the Rivers of America in front of New Orleans Square for the first of two shows at 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

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The what’s-old-is-new-again version of “Fantasmic” was like seeing an old friend for the first time in more than a year for many in the crowd Friday night. For them, it was equal parts familiar, comfortable and easy.

But after Memorial Day weekend, “Fantasmic” will seem new, fresh and spectacular to the summer tourists who haven’t seen the show in years and even more so for the next generation of fans who are experiencing it for the first time.

Traffic was backed up on Ball Road at 7 p.m. as annual passholders streamed in for the show only to find Disneyland directing traffic to the Toy Story parking lot because the Mickey and Friends and Pixar Pals garages were filling up quickly to capacity.

Disneyland cast members in front of the River Belle Terrace were telling guests at 8 p.m. that viewing areas were full and to come back for the later show — or on another day.

Those who found a spot were primed and ready when the lights fell at 9 p.m. Friday as hoots, hollers and screams filtered across the 10,000 people gathered along the waterfront.

Soon enough the marching broomsticks from “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” were tossing buckets of water on the mist screens and the potato chip-like flower petals were parading onto the Tom Sawyer Island stage ahead of the slithering segments of Kaa the snake.

A cheer rose through the crowd as the glow-in-the-dark dancing monkeys floated past on barges and the performers responded with joyful pent-up energy after a year away.

After being bottled up for 13 months, Genie summed up the feeling of the crowd as he emerged from the magic lamp: “Wow, does it feel good to be out of there.”

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The imagery on the mist screens and the Fantasmic stage looked sharp and crisp thanks to the state-of-the-art projectors installed during the downtime.

Fists were raised in the air amid the crowd by the time Columbia rounded the bend and Peter Pan came into view in his triumphant return after seven years of exile.

Cue the princesses, the Magic Mirror and the forces of evil and before long Maleficent was back at the top of the scissor lift like it was 2009 all over again.

Soon enough, the Mark Twain Riverboat was in sight and melancholy began to set in. It couldn’t be over already. When would we see it again? Fortunately, there was another show in an hour. And every night throughout summer.

As the lights came up, the crowds headed for the exits whistling the familiar “Fantasmic” theme song melody with a classic Disneyland “kiss goodnight” on their cheeks.

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