Maleficent, a Sleeper Hit!

On Wednesday, May 28th, my friend and I headed to Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto for a viewing of Maleficent, the new Disney movie starring Angelina Jolie. Greeted by people with really great horn hats, we walked in expecting to see a retelling of the classic movie Sleeping Beauty. What we ended up seeing was a film that took any preconceived notions we might have had and flipped them on its head.

In the first half of the movie, we meet a young Maleficent; innocent, kind and polite, she’s a fairy that flies all over the magical realm of The Moors. A young boy, by the name of Stefan, trespasses into their magical world and Maleficent is forever changed. Thinking their bond could never be broken, she’s devastated to learn that Stefan will leave no rock unturned in order to be the reign of the kingdom. He betrays her trust in such a cruel and hurtful way that her kind disposition is robbed and the faerie realm is soon turned into a cruel and evil place run by Maleficent.

Never scorn a woman, because to pay Stefan back for the cruel act he performs, she heads to his kingdom to place a curse on his newborn daughter Aurora. This is when the movie takes a different turn then one expects. Instead of stewing, being angry and festering in hate, she watches the child grow into a beautiful, kind and sweet woman. The anger she originally starts with begins to fade away after these sixteen years and her heart warms to caring for Aurora.

I’ll be honest and say that I was a bit surprised it turned out how it did, because the ads on television have really only shown a glimpse of the story. I went in expecting one movie and ended up watching a completely different one. That’s not to say I didn’t like it, I was just expecting something entirely different. It was smart, progressive and accomplished. The  retelling of this side of the story could not have been an easy challenge.

NOTE: If you head to this movie, be sure to bring children over the age of ten as there are some scenes that are a bit gruesome and heartbreaking.

Are you planning to see Maleficent?

A special thanks to our Toronto area correspondent Lindsey Reeder for her great review of Maleficent!

FT&PD

Suz

***Lindsey Reeder is obsessed with chocolate, coffee and books. It only made sense that she would choose a career in book publishing with a last name like Reeder. As a Coordinator in Online Marketing for Random House of Canada, Lindsey spends her days tweeting and blogging about books that make her laugh, make her cry and everything in between. Follow Lindsey on Twitter at @reederreads