Film

Maleficent

Name: Maleficent
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Family, Romance
Released: 2014
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Imelda Staunton, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville

Maleficent flips the script on Sleeping Beauty, centering the villain as a wounded, complex woman driven to darkness by betrayal. Angelina Jolie commands the screen with theatrical flair, delivering a film that's half revenge fantasy, half redemption arc. It's visually sumptuous and emotionally weighty—a fairytale that trusts young viewers with moral ambiguity and real hurt.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love a fairy tale turned inside out, where the villain's grudge gets a sympathetic hearing and Jolie's cheekbones do most of the talking.

Skip it if you are hoping for the 1959 original's songs and courtly charm, since this leans on modern spectacle and leaves much of that behind.

What it asks of you: At ninety-seven minutes it keeps moving, rarely lingers, and keeps its tone bright even when the stakes sharpen, so it wants attention more than patience.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Frozen2013

Like Maleficent, this Disney film reframes a fairytale through female rage and protection rather than romance. The twist on what love truly means, and the sister bond at its core, shares that same appetite for emotional depth beneath the magic.

But If you want a traditionally linear fairytale with a clear hero and villain, this subverts expectations so thoroughly it might frustrate you. The structure takes getting used to.

Cruella2021

Same DNA: a villain origin story that asks you to understand and sympathize with someone we're told to hate. Emma Stone brings the same commitment to moral complexity that Jolie does, with a stylish, angry edge that feels personal and earned.

But It's longer and more scattered than Maleficent, juggling tone and timeline in ways that sometimes feel messy. The pacing stumbles.

The Shape of Water2017

A gorgeously mounted fantasy about connection across impossible divides, and about someone society has deemed monstrous proving to be entirely human. Guillermo del Toro shares Maleficent's gift for making darkness feel intimate and beautiful.

But It's slower and more metaphorical than you might expect from a fantasy adventure. Some find it precious rather than moving.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Maleficent

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Dark Crystal1982

Both trust that fantasy can be simultaneously beautiful and deeply uncomfortable. Both centre monstrous or 'wrong' beings as the emotional heart of their story.

A dark fantasy built from puppetry and genuine craft rather than CGI—it has Maleficent's commitment to visual beauty in service of a genuinely unsettling story. The Skeksis are complex villains in a way that rewards attention, and the world feels lived-in because it physically was.

But It's deliberately weird and doesn't hold your hand. The pacing is glacial, and some viewers find the puppet aesthetic more disturbing than immersive.

Snow White and the Huntsman2012

Another dark reimagining of a classic, with Charlize Theron as a genuinely terrifying villain and Chris Hemsworth as the complicated hero. It scratches that same itch for fairytales with real stakes and visual spectacle.

But The tonal shifts between action sequences and character moments can feel jarring. Neither element fully commits to the other.

Pan's Labyrinth2006

A fairytale for adults that never softens its darkness, yet maintains genuine wonder and beauty. Like Maleficent, it trusts that fantasy can hold real cruelty and real love at once, and that doing so makes both more powerful.

But It's in Spanish and genuinely disturbing in places. This is not escapist fun—it's confrontational storytelling dressed in magical language.

Stardust2007

A romantic fantasy adventure that's visually lush and emotionally sincere without being saccharine. Michelle Pfeiffer's villain, like Maleficent, is charismatic and complex—you understand her even when you fear her.

But It wears its influences on its sleeve and occasionally feels derivative. The romance can tip into earnestness that doesn't quite land.

The NeverEnding Story1984

A fairytale about a child saved by a creature everyone assumes is evil—very much Maleficent's emotional core. Bastian and Atreyu's relationships with the beings they meet mirror Aurora and Maleficent's gradual understanding.

But It's slow-burn by modern standards, and the practical effects have dated visibly. Patience is non-negotiable here.

Enchanted2007

Less dark than Maleficent, but shares its fascination with fairytale tropes and what happens when they collide with reality. Amy Adams and Susan Sarandon elevate material that could be slight into something charming and surprisingly smart about happy endings.

But It's tone-deaf in places and leans heavily into fish-out-of-water comedy. The whimsy can feel suffocating if that's not your wavelength.

Clueless1995

Both are character studies about women who learn that their protective anger can soften without becoming weak. Both centre female relationships as redemptive.

An unlikely connection: Alicia Silverstone's Cher is a villain to herself in ways Maleficent never is to herself. Both are sharp, exacting, utterly committed to their own moral logic, and both find transformation through genuine connection rather than capitulation. Rewarding in completely different registers.

But It's a 90s teen comedy, so if you came for dark fantasy, this will feel frivolous. The tone is antic and light where Maleficent is grave.

Dekalog1989

Both understand that the most interesting stories are about how good people do terrible things, and how terrible circumstances make us all capable of harm. Both refuse to punish this understanding.

Ten one-hour films about moral complexity and the gap between how we justify ourselves and how we actually live. Like Maleficent, it refuses easy answers or simple villainy—every character is comprehensible and none are excused. Kieslowski's empathy is devastating.

But It's slow, philosophical, and entirely without magic or spectacle. If you watch Maleficent for the dark enchantress and the flying, this will feel austere to the point of bleakness.