The first trailer for next summers live action adaptation of the
Sleeping Beauty story told from the perspective of its antagonist has premiered and it truly is nothing more than a teaser. Starring Angelina Jolie in the titular role of Maleficent, a young woman who grows from the pure-hearted creature she once was to the evil witch we perceive her to be in the story of Aurora. Speaking of Aurora, we get more of a look at her in the form of Elle Fanning here than we do at Jolie in Maleficant garb, but that is all well and good as I can appreciate a promotional campaign that knows how to restrain itself. Given that the film doesn't open until next year I assume this teaser has been timed to coincide with the release of
Frozen around Thanksgiving. It is a bit of an odd pair as this certainly seems to be a bit of a darker tale than
Oz the Great and Powerful but much more in line with Tim Burton's
Alice in Wonderland. Robert Stromberg is directing the film and actually served as production designer on both of the aforementioned films so expect this to all look very familiar. I'm interested to see this turns out though because I'm optimistic there is an interesting story to tell here and actors at the caliber of Jolie, Sharlto Copley, and Imedla Staunton wouldn't sign up for something that was an almost guaranteed blockbuster if they didn't see something worth investing in. Otherwise, the trailer itself actually looks fairly interesting and will at least get peoples attention with the promise of bringing one of Disney's most popular tales to extravagant real-life and Disney is really hoping this pays off as they already have live-action versions of both
Cinderella and
Cruella (why?) in the pipeline.
Maleficent also stars Sam Riley, Juno Temple, Leslie Manville, Brenton Thwaites, Miranda Richardson and opens on May 30, 2014.
Synopsis: From Disney comes “Maleficent”—the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty.” 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.
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