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Maleficent ( or ) is a fictional character who first appears in Disney Animation's 1959 film, Sleeping Beauty. Maleficent is the self-proclaimed "Dark lord" based on the wicked fairy character in Charles Perrault's fairy tale Sleeping Beauty,Jeff Rovin (1987). 081601356X, Facts on File. 081601356X as well as the villainess who appears in the Brothers Grimm's retelling of the story, Little Briar Rose. Maleficent was originally animated by Marc Davis.
In the 1959 film, Maleficent was originally voiced by Eleanor Audley, who earlier voiced Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's evil stepmother, in Disney Animation's 1950 film Cinderella. Maleficent is represented as an evil fairy and the self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil" who, after not being invited to a christening, curses the infant Princess Aurora to "prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die" before the sun sets on Aurora's sixteenth birthday. (1998). 9780786863365, Hyperion. ISBN 9780786863365
A revision of the character appeared as the titular protagonist in the 2014 live-action film Maleficent, portrayed by Angelina Jolie, who reprised the role in the 2019 sequel . This version of Maleficent is portrayed as a sympathetic character, who is misunderstood in trying to protect herself and her domain from humans.
She was voiced by Eleanor Audley, who had previously performed Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's evil stepmother, in Disney's Cinderella (1950). Audley also provided some live-action recording for both of these characters to inspire the animators. In addition, dancer Jane Fowler performed some live-action reference for Maleficent. Animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, in their book The Disney Villain, describe animating Audley's voice as "a difficult assignment but a thrilling one, working to that voice track with so much innuendo, mixed in with the fierce power". (1993). 9781562827922, Hyperion. ISBN 9781562827922
It was long rumored that Maleficent's likeness was inspired by actress Maila Nurmi, best known for her character Vampira, a camp icon that was created in 1953, and inspired by Morticia Addams from The Addams Family comic strip by Charles Addams for The New Yorker; the Dragon Lady from the comic strip Terry and the Pirates; and the Evil Queen from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). In 2014, entries were discovered in Nurmi's journals describing sessions for Walt Disney in November 1956, and the Walt Disney Company was subsequently able to find archival documents corroborating Nurmi's participation as a "live-action reference" model for the character. Maleficent's likeness in the eponymous 2014 film, as portrayed by actress Angelina Jolie, was inspired by Lady Gaga's appearance in her music video "Born This Way" (2011).
For the scene when Maleficent transforms into a European dragon in the original film, she was animated by Eric Cleworth, who said that the dragon was modeled on a rattlesnake, with "powerful muscles moving a bulky body over the rocky terrain". Sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald searched for the sound of a dragon's fiery breath by requesting the United States Army to send him some training films on Flamethrower, and these films provided just the right sound for him.
Later, at her castle in the Forbidden Mountains, a frustrated Maleficent asks her bestial army why they have been unable to find Aurora, who had been hidden and brought up by the three good fairies. Maleficent learns that they have focused on searching for a baby the entire time, even though 16 years have passed. She flies into a destructive rage, and soon desperately instructs her pet raven, Diablo, to find Aurora. The bird manages to succeed due to a magical quarrel between Merryweather and Flora, which exposes their location. On Aurora's sixteenth birthday, after the three fairies have momentarily left the depressed princess alone in a castle room, Maleficent visits Aurora in the form of a will-o-the-wisp, luring the princess to a tower room where Maleficent transforms into a spinning wheel. The fairies, realizing their mistake, pursue Aurora to the tower room. Unfortunately, on Maleficent's command, Aurora pricks her finger on the spindle and falls asleep. When Flora, Merryweather, and Fauna arrive too late, Maleficent appears and taunts them of their attempts of defeating her. Maleficent then reveals Aurora, shocking the fairies as she disappears, leaving the fairies heartbroken at what happened.
Later on, Maleficent and her goons capture Prince Phillip, Aurora's true love, and imprisons him. Maleficent then rests well, thinking she has triumphed. However, she later wakes up and by seeing that Diablo has been turned to stone, she discovers that the fairies have freed Phillip from her dungeon. She climbs to the top of one of her castle's towers and proceeds to blast Phillip with lightning, and after the good fairies foil these attempts, she summons a forest of thorns, through which Phillip slices his way out. Enraged, she blows away and confronts him in front of King Stefan's castle and transforms into a dragon. The three fairies enchant Phillip's Sword of Truth, which he throws into Maleficent's heart, mortally wounding her before she falls off the cliff to her death.
Prior to the film's events, Maleficent was a benevolent fairy who possessed healing abilities and shared an immense fondness with all the denizens of her mystical domain. Maleficent befriends a thieving peasant boy named Stefan, upon being alerted to his presence by a trio of : Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton), Thistletwit (Juno Temple), and Flittle (Lesley Manville).
As a young adult, Maleficent is betrayed by Stefan, who uses iron to burn off her wings so that he can succeed King Henry. After claiming a raven named Diaval (Sam Riley) as her henchman, Maleficent renames herself from guardian of the Moors to ruler of same. Both her clothing and realm turn dark, reflecting the hatred with which she is now consumed. When she learns that now-King Stefan and his Queen Leila have a newborn daughter named Aurora (Elle Fanning), Maleficent acts in the name of what she considers poetic justice by cursing the newborn Aurora to fall into a deathlike slumber on her 16th birthday; the spell can be broken only by the kiss of true love, which neither Maleficent nor Stefan believe in. Knotgrass, Thistletwit, and Flittle are assigned to look after Aurora until after her 16th birthday, but prove be incompetent and negligent. To ensure that her curse comes to pass, Maleficent cares for and protects Aurora from afar. As Aurora grows, Maleficent recognizes the folly of punishing Stefan's daughter for something he alone did. This tender regard for Aurora enables Maleficent to undo the damage which she herself inflicted; after Philip's kiss fails to break the curse, Maleficent voices her regrets and herself kisses Aurora's brow. Roused from her enchanted sleep and now aware of her father's true nature, Aurora foils his efforts to destroy Maleficent by returning Maleficent's wings to her. Completely stripped of her bitterness and thirst for vengeance, Maleficent declares an end to her feud with Stefan, but the king, driven by shame too great to bear, attempts to kill her and himself, only to take a fatal fall from his castle's highest turret.
Following Aurora's ascension over her parents' domain, Maleficent crowns her to rule the Moors as well, with Diaval and Phillip looking on proudly.
In the sequel Descendants 2 (2017), Maleficent continues in her lizard form, and is taken back by Mal to the Isle of the Lost, where she accidentally falls and ends up on the streets of the place. Although she does not appear in Descendants 3 (2019), it is revealed that Mal's father, and Maleficent's former mate, is Hades.
She appears in the animated television special (2021), still turned into a lizard, where she attends Mal and Ben's wedding.
A teenage Maleficent appears in the spin-off film (2024), played by actress Marissa Kruep.
She debuts in a flashback of the first season episode "The Thing You Love Most", where Regina Mills (the Evil Queen) goes in search of her help, being Maleficent shown as a woman with curly blonde hair and wearing a pink dress. She was slain by Emma Swan in dragon form in the first season finale, "A Land Without Magic".
She later returns in an undead form in the second season episode "The Evil Queen", where Killian Jones confronts her.
She acts as one of the main antagonists in the second half of the fourth season, where she is resurrected by Mr. Gold (Rumpelstiltskin), appearing with a look more inspired by the animated version of Disney, and is part of a group known as the Queens of Darkness, along with Ursula and Cruella De Vil, and temporarily the Evil Queen. In dragon form, she mothered Lilith, and ends up making a deal with the protagonists to find her. In the series finale, it is mentioned in dialogue that Lilith's father was Zorro, whom no one knew could become a dragon.
In the spin-off series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Robin Hood and his Merry Men infiltrate Maleficent's castle in the episode "Forget Me Not". Although she does not make a physical appearance, and only her dragon roar is heard when she discovers that there are intruders.
She appears in the first Kingdom Hearts game (2002), as the leader of a group of villains who seek to dominate the worlds thanks to the darkness using the Heartless. She has her base of operations in the Hollow Bastion castle, where she faces the protagonist, Sora, who manages to defeat her.
In (2004), Maleficent fills the same role as in the first game as a fragment of Sora's memories.
Maleficent is resurrected in Kingdom Hearts II (2005), where with Pete's help she tries to find a new base of operations and assemble a new group of villains.
She and Pete return in Kingdom Hearts Coded (2008), where they are transported into the Datascape to conquer the data worlds.
Maleficent's past is explored in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (2010), where she appears in her home world, Enchanted Dominion, fulfilling the same role as in Sleeping Beauty. Though she is defeated in her dragon form, she reverts to her first form and flees before she can be finished off.
In (2012), Maleficent and Pete invade Disney Castle and take Minnie hostage, but they are stopped in the act thanks to Lea.
She appears in Kingdom Hearts Union χ (2017) fulfilling the same role as in Birth by Sleep, as an image of the future events. After her defeat, she meets the Darkness, who tells her about her future.
During Kingdom Hearts III (2019), Maleficent and Pete focus on traveling the worlds in search of the Black Box.
Maleficent was featured in the book sequel to Sleeping Beauty called Maleficent's Revenge.
Maleficent also appears as one of the villains in the 2005 Disney manga series Kilala Princess by Rika Tanaka and Nao Kodaka.
Maleficent is the protagonist in Serena Valentino's Disney Villains franchise book Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy.
In another The Simpsons short, Welcome to the Club (2022), Maleficent appears along with other Disney Villains trying to convince Lisa Simpson how fun it is to be a villain.
Maleficent's live-action version from the film series of the same name has received critical attention, different from its original, animated counterpart. Benjamin Justice describes this version of Maleficent as "a full person, good and evil, powerful and vulnerable, vengeful and loving" and notes that, while she and Aurora value heterosexual relationships and love, neither of them "let the idea of one define the arc of the personal or public lives." When analyzing Maleficent's disability after she loses her wings due to Stephan's betrayal, Colleen Elaine Donnelly compares her role to that of Elphaba in Wicked, explaining that in both cases, the story "intends to reform the stereotype of the evil witch by providing a backstory."
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