FILM · 2014 · USA
Maleficent
34 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (34)
- #001
Angelina Jolie worked closely with the costume and makeup designers to develop Maleficent's menacing look. Disney executives objected, hoping to capitalize on Jolie's beauty in the film's marketing, but the actress insisted the character keep the more frightening appearance of her animated incarnation in Sleeping Beauty (1959).
- #002
Maleficent's magic changes color. When she is good, her magic is gold; when she is evil, her magic is green.
- #003
Angelina Jolie based her character's speech and accent on a tribute to Eleanor Audley, the voice actress for Maleficent in the original Sleeping Beauty (1959). Her laugh in the film was also based on the best variation she tried out in front of her children, which they chose.
- #004
Angelina Jolie performed her own stunts in the flying and battle scenes using harnesses.
- #005
Angelina Jolie admitted that her horns are still at her home.
- #006
The board game played by the three fairies is a real game called nine men's morris, which dates back to antiquity and was very popular in medieval England.
- #007
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt was cast to play young Aurora because the director knew she would not be afraid of Maleficent, since she knew she was her mother.
- #008
As co-producer, Angelina Jolie insisted that the dialogue in Aurora's christening scene be written word for word based on the original animated film Sleeping Beauty (1959), because she considered it the main core and structure of the entire film. The new story differs so much from the original scene that Maleficent initially cursed Aurora with death after the last fairy pricked her finger, using her power to change the spell from death to sleep. This sequence also includes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo (a one-second shot) by Jolie's two children, Pax Jolie-Pitt and Zahara Jolie-Pitt.
- #009
To give the fairies a fitting sense of feather-lightness and agility, the three actresses who play them, Lesley Manville, Dame Imelda Staunton and Juno Temple, spent three weeks filming motion capture under the guidance of Cirque du Soleil artists. Lesley Manville called the experience "just fantastic."
- #010
All the actors and actresses in Maleficent were cast partly because of their uncanny and/or striking resemblance to their respective counterparts in Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959).
- #011
Diaval's makeup (in human form) consisted of "crow's feet" on his face and body, to reflect his true bird nature.
- #012
Angelina Jolie wore several headpieces of different weights for Maleficent's horns. One of the headpieces was so heavy that Angelina suffered neck pain right after wearing it, and it was therefore unsuitable for more physically demanding scenes such as the flying and battle sequences.
- #013
Maleficent is a fairy, but she more closely resembles a harpy, a hybrid winged creature from Greek and Roman mythology with parts of a woman and a bird.
- #014
Angelina Jolie also said: "Having a director from the world of production design (Robert Stromberg) really helped draw me into the fairy-tale world. The film is beautiful, but it also has a sexy and dark side because the story comes from a villain's point of view."
- #015
Peter Capaldi was cast as Maleficent's uncle, but the role was cut from the final version.
- #016
Angelina Jolie's children appear briefly during the christening scene, cowering in fear of Maleficent.
- #017
Because its art-style backgrounds were inspired by French tapestries and certain Western European artworks, this remake is believed to be set in Scotland near the English border, unlike the original animated film, which is believed to be set in France near the German border, as indicated by King Stefan's Scottish accent and the emphasis on the Celtic-feeling fairies of the Moors.
- #018
This film had the biggest budget of Robert Stromberg's directing career to date, surpassing another Disney film, Tron: Legacy (2010).
- #019
The name "Maleficent" is derived from Latin and literally means "evil doer." The film gives no reason for Maleficent, a young and good fairy, to have such a name. The name fits once she begins to be destructive.
- #020
In the mid-2010s, Disney began releasing live-action adaptations of its classic animated films. "Cinderella" (2015) is often described as the "first" live-action remake of an animated Disney film, but many fans and critics argue that "Maleficent" (2014), a retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" (1959) from the villain's point of view, deserves that distinction. However, "101 Dalmatians" (1996) was released nearly 20 years before these films and is in fact the first true live-action adaptation of an animated Disney film.
- #021
This was special makeup effects artist Rick Baker's last major film. After this film, he retired from the industry in 2015 because he was no longer doing good work.
- #022
This was Angelina Jolie's first live-action film role since The Tourist (2010), four years earlier.
- #023
In June 2015, it was announced that a sequel to this film was coming.
- #024
Although he was supposed to be somewhat older, Brenton Thwaites is actually 9 years older than his co-star Elle Fanning.
- #025
Tara Reid, Emma Thompson and Judi Dench were considered for the roles of the fairies.
- #026
Before Sharlto Copley was cast, Jude Law was thought to be playing King Stefan.
- #027
Producers briefly considered the idea of reuniting Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy from Hocus Pocus (1993) as this film's three fairies.
- #028
This is the highest-grossing film of Angelina Jolie's career.
- #029
On May 12, 2009, it emerged that Brad Bird was developing a live-action film based on Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959), retold from Maleficent's point of view, with Angelina Jolie playing the role of Maleficent. In January 2010, it was reported that Tim Burton would direct the film. In May 2011, reports surfaced online that Burton had left the project to focus on his other upcoming projects; Disney began searching for a new director, with David Yates — who had directed the last four Harry Potter films and was cited as a potential candidate because of his experience in the fantasy genre — among those considered. On January 6, 2012, Disney announced that Robert Stromberg would direct the film.
- #030
Elle Fanning was 14 years old when she played Aurora, who is about to turn 16.
- #031
Just before bringing Aurora to the Moors, Maleficent says, "I wonder." "I Wonder" is the name of the song Aurora sings while walking through the forest in the animated version of Sleeping Beauty (1959).
- #032
Expectations for the film's box office potential were relatively low. It surprised Disney by grossing over $700 million worldwide. Domestically, it surpassed the grosses of Godzilla (2014), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).
- #033
Miranda Richardson was cast as Queen Ulla, but the role was cut.
- #034
In this film, the roles of two of the good fairies are swapped. Thistlewit (Juno Temple) dresses in green like Fauna but is actually the equivalent of Merryweather and the one interrupted by Maleficent before she can give her gift. Flittle (Lesley Manville) dresses in blue like Merryweather but is actually the equivalent of Fauna and blesses Aurora with the gift of endless happiness. Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton) wears red and is the Flora equivalent. As in the original film, she blesses Aurora with the gift of endless beauty.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work