Maleficent

Maleficent is an upcoming 2014 dark fantasy film directed by Robert Stromberg and produced by Walt Disney Pictures, from a screenplay written by Linda Woolverton.[1] Starring Angelina Jolie as the eponymous Disney Villainess character, the film is a live-action re-imagining of Walt Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty, and portrays the story from the perspective of the antagonist, Maleficent. It began filming on June 18, 2012, and is scheduled for release on May 30, 2014 in the Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats, as well as in conventional theatres.

Angelina Jolie playing Maleficent might be Disney’s best pairing of actor and role since Johnny Depp played a certain pirate. Of course, Disney had to be dragged kicking and screaming into accepting Depp’s eccentric performance as Capt. Jack Sparrow — until it made them billions of dollars. Jolie’s portrayal isn’t likely to ruffle as many feathers, especially since she looks amazing as the Sleeping Beauty villain who curses the young Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning.)

Maleficent, which is Jolie’s first on-screen role in three and a half years, opens May 30. Here’s the official plot synopsis: “A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when 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 begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant 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.”

In short, Maleficent is the film as told from the perspective of the titular character, while The Curse of Maleficent is told from the perspective of Aurora. As a crude example, if Maleficent were to sneak up on Aurora from behind and tap her on the left shoulder while standing to Aurora’s right, Maleficent would detail Maleficent’s thought process and actions and ultimately Aurora falling for the trick and looking behind to her left. Meanwhile, The Curse of Maleficent would simply note from Aurora’s perspective that she was tapped on the shoulder and turned to not see anyone there. And, of course, it works both ways. One major difference between the two books, however, is that The Curse of Maleficent includes illustrations by Nicholas Kole which often feature Maleficent and supplement the text by providing hints as to what is really occurring in the scene from a more objective point of view.

It’s quite a mindtrip reading both titles back to back, and I don’t know if I would necessarily recommend anyone do so, but there is a significant amount of difference in insight that makes it not not worthwhile. If choosing to read both, however, I would highly recommend reading Maleficent first as it provides what seems like the heart of the film goes into great detail with the films’ start and ends while The Curse provides more of a recap version of several events. If reading just The Curse is on your list, I would recommend waiting until at least seeing the film first, as it will make more sense when filling in the gaps. In either case, both titles are well written and are quick and easy reads for young adults (and up).

Both titles will be available for the Kindle, but Maleficent is definitely one book you’ll want to collect as a hardcover given its movie poster cover and the pages being trimmed in black, giving it a unique, ominous look.