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Pre-Release Thoughts: The Maleficent Conundrum

As a general rule, everybody always goes a little bit crazy when something very familiar is shaken up and taken in a new direction. Maleficent, Disney’s newest release, has certainly stirred up a remarkable amount of online controversy  and it doesn’t even land in cinemas until May 30th.

Prejudging certainly happens with the vast majority of new cinematic releases, it’s only natural. Cinema ticket prices are hugely inflated and we want to rest assured that we are getting value for money. If the film looks to be poor quality or a drawn-out sequel of a once-popular hit, sales will inevitably be disappointing. On the other hand, if it’s the long-awaited next episode of a vast franchise or series, there is likely to be a large degree of hype awaiting its release. 

But with Maleficent, nobody really knows what to think. Or where to start. Or indeed, where this film really fits in at all. First of all, where do we place it with regards to Disney’s original animated film Sleeping Beauty (1959)? It is certainly not a sequel, as the action appears to play out within the timeframe of the same story. But the trailer also hints that there will be interspersed moments of backstory…is it therefore partially a prequel? Others would argue, more significantly, that the two films should not be placed together at all. 

The trailer itself doesn’t exactly fill you with the warm fuzzy-wuzzy Disney love-story magic of the original film. It looks a lot darker, very medieval, evocative of an epic. Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings spring to mind as far as aesthetic is concerned. Though this is very in keeping with popular culture, it has a fatal flaw: being so ominous and scary, it cuts away a sizeable chunk of the Disney franchise’s target audience. Though it has a sizeable adult following, the ethos of Disney has always been child-centered. And though it isn’t the first time Disney has aimed a film at its adult fan base, the majority of those films stood alone, not inseparably tied to one of Disney’s classic kids’ films. 

Even the mere commissioning of the film was enough to raise eyebrows. Would this film, the picking apart of one of the greatest, most unquestionably evil Disney villains, not ruin the original classic? I’d like, at this particular moment, to subtly cough out the word “Wicked”. Maleficent is not the first attempt to remould the villain of a traditional story. In Gregory Maguire’s hugely successful 1995 novel (yes, the book, not the musical) Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, he examines the character of the witch Elphaba through an alternative, more elucidating lens. Like Maleficent, undoubtedly the novel is targeted at an adult audience (NOT a bedtime read for your children), whereas the original Wizard of Oz story is very child-friendly. Yet, most importantly, Maguire’s novel does not largely impact upon the original. We are able, culturally and artistically, to see and enjoy the two creations as being separate if we choose to. 

So the ‘review of the antagonist’ has been done before, and done successfully, without spoiling the source story. But the parallels between Maleficent and the Wicked franchise are far from perfect. Whereas Maguire sheds light on areas of Oz left unlit by the original’s author L. Frank Baum, and introduces characters we didn’t meet in the original, Maleficent is set within the original setting, with the original characters, and even some of the original action. Whereas initially it seemed we could class the film as a prequel, this seems to suggest that rather it is a flat-out remake, with some significant alterations that will, therefore, impact upon the original. 

One more thing cannot be ignored. Angelina Jolie is playing the starring role. It’d be foolish to deny that alone will be a huge point of interest for many. In the trailer, I have to say she appears fabulous. She certainly has the look, she has the voice, she has mastered the nuances of the character, and all of this drawn from a mere two-minute snippet. Considering this, with the whole concept of the film being extensively scrutinised, I’m hoping for tw things.  One, that the film was not constructed around the signing of Jolie to the project and two, if the film is such a “bad idea”, her performance can save it. 

Of course, all of this is speculation. Maleficent might be a huge hit. One thing cannot be denied, many of us, even if we express our doubts about the film, are firmly on Disney’s side  Sleeping Beauty is a childhood memory cherished by many. Though it may be a film that one journalist in the New York Post declared will most likely be a “write down”, a lot of us certainly don’t want it to be. I for one will be crossing my fingers for Disney when May 30th comes around; the proof will be in the pudding. 

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