Maleficent (2014) is a dark fantasy film directed by Robert Stromberg starring Angelina Jolie as Maleficent. It had a budget of $180 million and grossed $757.4 million at the box office. The film provides an alternative perspective on the Disney film Sleeping Beauty, telling the story from the viewpoint of the villain Maleficent and portraying her as initially good-natured until betrayed by the human king. The film subverts conventions by making Maleficent both the villain who curses Princess Aurora and later the hero who breaks the curse, challenging typical notions of good and evil.

1. Maleficent (2014)
Postmodern film case study

2. Institution
• Directed by Robert Stromberg
• Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Release date: 28th May 2013 (UK)
• Budget: $180 million
• Box Office: $757.4 million
Production
• Tim Burton was originally planned to be the director.
• Angelina Jolie was attached to the project since March 2010.
• Robert Stromberg was announced as the director on 6th January 2012.
• The producers said that Angelina Jolie “seemed like the only person who could play
the part” and that “there was no point in making the movie if it wasn't her.“
• Elle Fanning who played Princess Aurora was casted in May 2012 along with Sharlto
Copley who plays Stefan.

3. Institution
Writing
• There were at least 15 versions of the film as it progressed in the production.
• In some of the versions, Stefan was half-human and other versions where there
were extra characters called Queen Ulla and King Kinloch who were the fairy queen
and king of the Moors and the aunt and uncle of Maleficent.
Filming
• There is an estimated budget of about $130-200 million.
• The principal photography began on 18th June 2012 in London .
• Post-production began on 5th October 2012.
• The opening was re-shot over 8 days.
Visual effects
• Stromberg used a balance of practical and computer-generated effects for the film.
• He wanted to make the visuals “a bit more grounded” and “not too surreal” as it
could be distracting from the simplicity of the story.

4. Convention
Genre: dark fantasy (fantasy with elements of horror)
• Maleficent could be considered as a postmodern film because it goes
against the conventions of traditional story tales.
• Firstly, the narrative is told in the perspective of the villain. Usually, the
story of fairy tales are shown in the protagonist’s point of view.
• However, it is arguable for this film as the protagonist was good when
she was young and then was supposedly evil afterwards when she
placed a curse on Aurora but eventually became good again and even
became the hero as Maleficent was the one who broke the curse.
• Therefore it is unclear what role she dominantly plays as she was the
one who placed the curse and also the one who broke it so her
character acted as both the villain and hero.

5. Representation
• The make-up of the protagonist is simple yet bold as it highlights the features
as being quite sharp and perhaps less friendly-looking which we would expect
from the main character.
• However, the younger version of Maleficent was shown to be very innocent
and youthful like the typical main character. The contrast between the two
ways in which the protagonist was represented shows the progression of the
character from being innocent to evil. This could also perhaps suggest that she
is not evil at heart. This is indicated at the end where her costume and make-up
makes her overall appearance less dark as it is similar to how she looked
when she was younger. This could suggest that she has returned to the state
she was originally –kind, typical protagonist.

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxOLqoVfxcc
Representation
http://www.cruxnow.com/life/2014/11/14/how-disneys-maleficent-subverts-
the-christian-symbolism-of-sleeping-beauty/
http://onlineathens.com/marquee/2014-06-04/shearer-maleficent-
brilliantly-deconstructs-good-and-evil
Representation of evil
• The original character Maleficent in “Sleeping Beauty” was an evil character but in
“Maleficent” the King who was portrayed as a sympathetic character in the original
was central to the evilness in the storyline as he demanded for Maleficent to die.
• Also in the original, Maleficent dies but in “Maleficent”, King Stefan is the one who
dies. This therefore reinforces the idea that he is the evil character as in typical fairy
tales the evil character dies.
• Furthermore, Maleficent shows forgiveness as she declares to end their feud.
However, the king attempts to kill her despite her claim which resulted in him falling
off the tower and dying.
• Maleficent shows a fair bit of kindness throughout the film such as weakening the
curse of the deathlike sleep where Aurora can be awakened by true love’s kiss. This
is slightly different from the original “Sleeping Beauty” as it was the good fairy who
altered the curse rather than Maleficent herself and rather than it being death it
was a deathlike sleep which may be considered less harsh. This again shows how
Maleficent’s character was altered to be less evil.
• Also the fact that the young lifestyle of Maleficent was shown in a positive way
where she was very innocent and kind. This supposedly emphasises the nature of
the character being good rather than evil.

7. Audience
• The film was rated a PG.
• The main audience of the film are female as on the opening
weekend it attracted an audience that was 60% female.
• 51% of the audience were over 25 and families accounted for 45%
of the audience.
• The story bases on the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty” so it is likely that
more females watched it because fairy tales are mainly targeted at
a female audience.
• Disney films generally appeal to families because they are suitable
for children to watch.