Maleficent: Another Disney Must-See

The other night I had the privilege of attending a sneak peek of Maleficent, Disney’s latest movie, which debuts in theaters today.

I took one of my best friends, Sarah, and we had a lovely time catching up and watching the flick.

I had a feeling this movie was going to be good. First, I love a good back story. Second, it has Angelina Jolie in it. She is an A-lister for a reason, and it’s safe to say she doesn’t take on mediocre roles. She takes on fantastic, larger-than-life roles, and I had no doubt she would fill the shoes of villain Maleficent beautifully. I was right. She rocked it.

For starters, it was in 3D, which I wasn’t expecting, but LOVED. The movie is absolutely breathtaking, from the scenery to the imagery of creatures that felt very Jim Henson meets Tim Burton. I loved every second. The opening scenes were some of my favorites, and the world in which Maleficent lives {The Moors}, was stunning and medieval feeling. I wanted to throw on a Renaissance period costume and jump on the screen and explore.

Press photo from Disney

ABOUT THE FILM {FROM DISNEY}

Maleficent explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic Sleeping Beauty and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.

MORE OF MY THOUGHTS

This film is rated PG. To be honest, I felt it should be rated PG-13, or at least recommended for children age 10 and up. It’s a bit dark and violent at times and some of the creatures were very scary in appearance. This preview gives you a good idea of what some of the scarier parts are, so I’ll leave the parental judgment up to you. I just know it would have given my 3-year-old nightmares 😉

The storyline was told beautifully, though at times, predictable. Still, there were a few twists along the way that kept me guessing. A surprise? There were some spots that the audience was laughing due to Jolie’s sarcasm at parts. Also, she may have made me shed some tears a few times, too. She stole the show, while I left thinking most of the other cast was just OK in their roles. Nobody stood out to me as Oscar-worthy.

Following the film, Sarah and I discussed what it reminded us of. I said the characters from the 80’s classic Labyrinth mixed with the modern computer generated imagery of Lord of The Rings, she said Never Ending Story and likened it to another back story classic, Wicked. See our theme? Funky fantasy and imaginative. If you are into the elements of any of those films/productions, you will for sure enjoy Maleficent.

Overall, I definitely think you should go see this in the theater to get the full 3D effect. It won’t be the same watching it at home!

Are you planning to see Maleficent? If you already saw it, what did you think?