15+ Hidden Facts In “Maleficent” That Left Us Jaws Dropping

Most movie lovers saw a more humanized reinterpretation of the story of the fairy tale and Disney animation villain. The first film was very successful, including being considered the fourth highest-grossing film of 2014 and gaining 54% critical approval. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil had a more modest collection, but surpassed films that debuted at the same time as Joker and Zombieland: Double Tap.

We, from awesome.club, we love to bring trivia about successful films. That’s why we’ve selected 18 details from the Maleficent movies that will surprise fans, as most probably didn’t even notice such details.

Many fans noticed that the stunning eyes of actress Angelina Jolie were somewhat different in the plot. That was thanks to contact lenses that were handcrafted especially for the character by craft artist Cristina Patterson. The accessory imitated the colorful tone of the famous eyes, mixed with the color of a stone called labradorite, which has a metallic finish; the pupil was made to look like a goat’s.

According to Angelina Jolie herself, the children who were interviewed to play Aurora were afraid when they saw her characterized as Maleficent. Even her children were afraid and Vivienne was the only one who saw her dear mother without being scared. In the recordings of the scene in which she takes the girl in her arms and says: “Go away!”, the phrase was dubbed, since Jolie was unable to say this to her daughter. Pax and Zahara, the actress’s children, also appear in the plot in the scene of Aurora’s christening.

Singer Lana del Rey has re-recorded a new version of the song Once Upon a Dream, from Disney’s 1959 animation “Sleeping Beauty”. Lana’s version already has over 45 million views on her YouTube channel.

In the recordings of the two versions of the film Maleficent, the main actress did not bother to do the most difficult scenes of her character herself. Angelina refused the stunts and the film’s Instagram shows some moments in which she appears suspended by cables or by a type of crane. In the video above, we can see Jolie recording on set with the chroma key background, where later the images were included digitally.

The production of the film made an effort to make the scenarios similar to those seen in the animation of Sleeping Beauty, from 1959. And the castle was one of these items, its construction was characterized according to the time in which the story is told (century XVI), marble floors and an immense hall that took more than three months to complete.

Rick Baker, special effects makeup artist, was responsible for creating the character’s horns with hatter Justin Smith, who designed them. Baker’s team has assembled no fewer than three different horns for Maleficent. The accessory was made of resin, which made it more durable and lightweight, in addition to being fixed by magnets on heavier prostheses.

The character’s angular cheekbones were inspired by Lady Gaga’s extravagant makeup in the Born This Way music video. Special effects makeup artists Arjen Tuiten and Rick Baker, as well as the actress’ private makeup artist, Toni G, were responsible for the prosthetics on Jolie’s face. The idea was to give a different look, but at the same time to preserve the beauty of the actress, without making the character strange or caricatured.

We can also see a resemblance to the scene from another Disney classic. When Aurora becomes engaged to Philip, in this part of the film, the two are partially enveloped by a type of tree with overhanging branches, much like a weeping willow. In the animation The Little Mermaid, the couple Ariel and Eric are inside a little boat and, when they go to kiss, they are also partially covered by branches of a similar tree, all to the sound of Kiss The Girl.

In the animation, Maleficent’s faithful companion is a crow; in the film he also appears, however he can transform into other animals such as a wolf, a dragon and even a man. The actor who plays the human figure of Diaval is Sam Riley, and he even said that he had to memorize the bird’s movements so that his interpretation was convincing. The actor also wore black lenses and feathers in his hair to compose the characterization.

Interesting facts regarding the “interpreters” of Princess Aurora:

In the animation of Sleeping Beauty, from 1959, the character appeared to be at least 20 years old and the voice actress of the original English version, Mary Costa, was almost 30 years old at the time; In the first edition of the film Maleficent, actress Elle Fanning , who played Princess Aurora about to turn 16, was only 14 years old at the time of recording, she only turned 16 in the year of the film’s premiere.

Almost at the end of the second film about Maleficent, we can see the protagonist rising from the ashes, like the legendary phoenix bird, to prevent the true villain of the plot from acting against Princess Aurora. Transformation very similar to the one that the antagonist of the animation went through, when she had to face the prince, becoming a great dragon. One more link linking the film to the cartoon version, from 1959.

The three fairies were played in the film by actresses Juno Temple, Lesley Manville and Imelda Staunton. In the part where they are smaller, the computer graphics team entered the scene, recording the movements of the actresses’ faces with no less than 200 cameras. All of this information was added to a digitally drawn body, and on set, the characters who interacted with it actually spoke to rubber ducks.

Fairy tales have always had an important message for the reader and Perrault’s Sleeping Beauty is no different. The story of the books shows an adventurous and curious princess, who at the first opportunity explores the world in which she lives. In Maleficent, Aurora also decided what she wanted for her life, refusing to wait for a savior prince. She chooses to live with Maleficent, and even as she discovers the truth about her own life, she continues to decide her future.

Although many think of Maleficent as the evil figure in this story, in Maleficent 2: Mistress of Evil, we soon realize that the evil is in Queen Ingrith. In many moments of the plot, she imitates other villains in fairy tales: she uses a hood to hide when she works out evil, just like Mother Goethel from Tangled. Another similarity is the gray pet cat, as well as Snow White’s Evil Stepmother.

Another homage to the 1959 animation was at the end of the plot of Maleficent 2: Mistress of Evil, at Princess Aurora’s wedding. In the cartoon, the fairies change from pink to blue until they agree that blue is the prettiest. In the movie, the dress starts out pink and turns green, also because of the fairies’ discussion.

As with most films, many famous names were considered before everything was settled. With that, names like Guillermo del Toro and Tim Burton were thought of for the direction. In the list of actors and actresses, they considered Kristen Stewart as Princess Aurora, Jude Law as King Stefan, India Eisley as the young Maleficent, in addition to Judi Dench and Emma Thompson playing the fairies. The producers liked the idea of ​​having the protagonists of Abracadabra as fairies: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy and Bette Midler.

Many lines and scenes of the plot were reproduced faithfully to the animation, an example was the christening of little Aurora. Since Maleficent’s entry, everything has been copied down to the millimeter, every gesture, scenario and every word spoken. The idea of ​​giving life to the drawing was fulfilled with success and care in this film.

A wave of films and series that work the “humanity” of villains has invaded our TVs and cinema. Who doesn’t remember the 2019 movie Joker, in which Arthur Fleck shows his motivations and his psychologically unstable side? Likewise, Maleficent told the story of the protagonist from her own perspective, full of hurt and resentment. If that doesn’t make her a good girl, she at least shows her anti-hero face when she does the right thing by the wrong means.

Did you like to know a little more about the curiosities of the Maleficent movies? Is there anything else you’d like to know that isn’t listed above? Tell us in the comments.