On Sunday I was lucky enough to be invited to the preview screening of Maleficent at the Odeon, Leicester Square. I took my very over excited 7 year old Goddaughter and 2 of her friends along with me to see Angelina Jolie’s performance in this new version of Sleeping Beauty written from the wicked fairy’s perspective. I admit I was slightly worried that it might be too scary for such young children as the promotional material I had seen, showed Angelina as Maleficent, complete with extraordinarily sharp, prosthetic cheekbones and dramatic makeup finished off with black horns. She looks truly darkly wonderful but would it be too much for young children to cope with from a Disney film?
I need not have worried – the three girls were enraptured from start to finish by the stunning visual effects in this 3D film and so was I. It was beautifully made, from the sugary sweet setting of the fairies’ kingdom, “The Moors” and the neighbouring human world, to the amazing effects when Maleficent took to the skies beating her enormous, feathered, fairy wings or when her fellow magical characters became a terrifyingly, intimidating army of trees. The story itself is a surprise which I won’t spoil for you but suffice to say it is a twist on the original Sleeping Beauty story, and I really enjoyed the way it has been rewritten, although there were clearly some influences from the ideas behind the stage musical “Wicked”. My God daughter thought “Angelina Jolie was a fantastic Maleficent, both a heroine and a villain. She was scary at times but I really liked her by the end”. Elle Fanning plays the beautiful princess Aurora, who is perfect in the role and Angelina’s own daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt plays Aurora as a young child in one scene. She is completely gorgeous – obviously!
So to sum up the children really enjoyed the film and “didn’t find it scary at all!” and I thought it was well executed and visually stunning. But for me it was really Angelina who stole the show with her incredible razor sharp cheekbones, her full ruby-red lips, slinky, black, silk dress and twisted, black horns – a truly magnificent Maleficent.
And here, if you want a child’s perspective, I give you my 7 year old Goddaughter’s review:-
I went to see the new Disney film Maleficent at the Odeon Leicester Square with my Godmother and two friends. I was really excited to see it because I love Disney films and I was interested to see how the story could be told from Maleficent, the wicked fairy’s side.
The 3D computer graphics were amazing and made the whole film light up especially when Angelina Jolie used her magic powers. I also loved the beautiful, magical setting of the land that the fairies lived in.
Angelina Jolie was a fantastic Maleficent, both a heroine and a villain. She was scary at times but I really liked her by the end. Elle Fanning played Aurora, a beautiful, kind princess who everybody loved and who was able to make even Maleficent love again.
I thought it was a great film and very different to what I had expected.
