Disney Countdown

And now for the live-action version of Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent. The Movie: Maleficent stars Angelina Jolie as the the title character.  It was released in 2014 to mixed reviews but performed well at the box-office.  A sequel is currently in production. Along the lines of Wicked, Maleficent is a flipped perspective of Sleeping Beauty, with the villain serving as the protagonist.  The movie opens with a young Maleficent, a fairy who helps to guard the Moors from human invasion.  She meets a young boy named Stefan and falls in love with him.  However, when the two are adults, the dying king promises to pass on his kingdom to the one that defeats Maleficent.  Taking advantage of their friendship, Stefan cuts off Maleficent's wings as a trophy and becomes king.  The rest of the story plays out with the traditional plot, but with some tweaks along the way. Ok, so Maleficent as originally depicted is a character that doesn't really need a back ...

Today we visit another classic fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty. The Movie: Sleeping Beauty is the 16th movie in the Disney Animated Canon.  Upon its initial release, Sleeping Beauty received mixed reviews.  Even though it was the second highest grossing movie of the year, it lost money at the box-office due to high production costs and a protracted development.  This loss forced Disney into using cheaper animation techniques that defined the styles of the end of the Silver Age and the Dark Age.  Disney also abandoned fairy tales after this movie, and the company wouldn't make another one until The Little Mermaid thirty years later. Sleeping Beauty is based on the Charles Perrault fairy tale.  The movie opens with King Stefan holding a celebration for the birth of his daughter Aurora.  The evil Maleficent crashes the party uninvited, and places a curse on the child.  To protect Aurora, she is sent into hiding until her 16th birthday as Briar Rose, ...