Movie Monday | And You Thought Your Breakup Was Bad…

Get over it. Because it was nothing compared to the “real” story behind Sleeping Beauty. In Disney’s Maleficent, starring the born-for-it Angelina Jolie, we find out what made her so evil in the animated stories of past. We get her side of the story – what some would say was the real story – and it’s really, really good.

From Jolie’s high cheek bones, wickedly gorgeous smile and piercing eyes (not to mention that she’s always been pretty good at playing a bad-ass), she’s Maleficent through and through. And, whether or not this movie was good, it’s worth seeing just to watch her in action.

Luckily, it is good. From eye-popping 3D beauty to seat-gripping action sequences and heart-thumping emotional storylines, it’s the makings of a Disney movie all grown up. In this version, we learn about the winged fairy – a lover scorned – who curses the king’s daughter as revenge for a broken heart. And he totally deserved it.

What ensues is the happy-go-lucky love story we remember, just with a new, fresh, curious perspective. That perspective includes the man-wolf(-dragon) behind the crow that flies alongside our cartoon memory, an overwhelmingly dark use of thorns and secrets to the fairy world that fascinate even the oldest (and I mean adult-sized) kids and the introduction to three ditzy “fairy godmothers” who might as well have cursed the princess themselves.

I wouldn’t take your five-year-old princesses to see this one, unless they’ve got a penchant for violence, but the moral is perfect for anyone old enough to understand what true love really is.