4 Things to know about Disney’s ‘Maleficent’

Manila, Philippines – Something wicked this way comes.

Disney’s Maleficent, slated for release in the Philippines late May, is a reimagining of the tale of Sleeping Beauty, focusing on the untold story of one of Disney’s most iconic villains.

The film follows a similar storyline as the animated Disney favorite, but provides a backstory as to how Maleficent transformed from into an evil wretch who ends up cursing Princess Aurora.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as the title character and Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora. The film also features actors Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.

Check out the trailer here:

Before you go hiding in fear, here are some interesting tidbits abut the film:

1. Angelina Jolie’s daughter Vivienne appears in the movie

5-year-old Vivienne Jolie-Pitt (Jolie’s daughter with partner Brad Pitt) plays the younger Aurora in the film. She received the role because she was the only child who wasn’t afraid of Jolie in costume. She was 4 at the time.

“Other 3-and 4-year-old[s] wouldn’t come near me,” Jolie said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “So in order to have a child that wants to play … it had to be a child that liked me and wasn’t afraid of my horns and my eyes and my claws. So it had to be Viv.”

Jolie’s children Pax and Zahara also make cameo appearances in the film.

On whether she or Pitt were grooming any of the Jolie-Pitt brood for a career in acting, Jolie said in the same interview that “We think it’s fun for our kids to have cameos and join us on set, but not to be actors. That’s not our goal for Brad and I at all.”

2. Angelina’s other children were afraid of her in costume

Jolie’s children were apprehensive of her taking the role because her kids said “she (Maleficent) is SO SCARY”. Her children (with the exception of Vivienne) wouldn’t even come near her when they first saw her in costume.

“When Pax saw me for the first time, he ran away and got upset” – and I thought he was kidding, so I was pretending to chase him until I actually found him crying,” Jolie shared with Entertainment Weekly. “I had to take off pieces [of the makeup] in front of him to show him it was all fake and not freak out so much.”

3. Maleficent was Angelina Jolie’s favorite Disney villain as a child

According to LA Times, Jolie revealed at the 2013 D23 Convention in Anaheim, California that her interest in Maleficent stemmed from her childhood. She says she grew up watching classic Disney films such as Sleeping Beauty.

“Since I was a little girl, Maleficent was always my favorite” she said, “I was terrified of her, but I was also drawn to her. I wanted to know more about her. She had this elegance and grace, yet she was wonderfully, deliciously cruel.”

4. Lana del Rey was picked to sing a cover of “Once Upon a Dream”

Lana del Rey reimagines the classic song from the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty, and her cover is heard in one of the latest trailers for Maleficent. According to Huffington Post, Lana del Rey was especially chosen to do the song.

Lana del Rey, known for her songs “Video Games,” “Young and Beautiful,” and “Blue Jeans,” will be releasing her latest album Ultraviolence, which will be out this year. 

Maleficent is set for release in the Philippines May 28. – With reports from Ina Sebastian/Rappler.com