The new trailer for Disney's Maleficent opens with footage from the Disney film that inspired it: 1959's animated classic Sleeping Beauty. "Behind the kiss, behind the magic, behind the legend of Sleeping Beauty," promises the trailer for this year's Maleficent, which cuts between the two films in an effort to draw a direct connection between them.
The key difference in Maleficent is a matter of perspective. The live-action film aims to do for the titular Sleeping Beauty baddie what Wicked did for The Wizard of Oz by retelling a familiar story from the perspective of the ostensible villain. Angelina Jolie plays Maleficent, in her first starring role since 2010's The Tourist, and the actress is clearly enjoying her-scenery-chewing attempt to bring "Disney's greatest villain" to the big screen again. "Curious little beastie," says Maleficent, referring to the young Princess Aurora. "Bring her to me."
On paper, Maleficent sounds like a can't-miss proposition for Disney, but the film's success isn't exactly assured. In recent months, Disney has earned major kudos for Frozen, which upended many of the genre conventions that Disney itself helped to popularize. There will obviously be some revisions to the story, but if Maleficent is even remotely faithful to its source material, we'll see a blandly handsome prince kiss a beautiful young woman back to life — not exactly the most progressive of stories.
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Will a return visit to one of the company's most squarely traditional fairy tales yield the same dividends, or have tastes changed in the half century since Sleeping Beauty's release? We'll find out when Maleficent hits theaters in May.
