Maleficent

There is something very similar about Wreck-it Ralph and Maleficent: they both show that the villain is often wrongfully seen in black and white. From a human perspective, Maleficent poisons their future queen and attacks their land. However, there is more behind her than just pure evil, Maleficent felt wronged and hurt by Stefan’s betrayal, which prompted all of her actions.

There is a certain facet to this movie that reminds me of The Lord of the Rings. The opening monologue from The Lord of the Rings begins with, “It began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf-Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power…” emphasizing the inferiority of men to all other races. Humans are seen as power hungry and corrupt, while the other races are wise and live in harmony. The same concept can be seen in Maleficent through the quote, “[Humans] They were forever discontent, and envious of the wealth and beauty of their neighbors. For in the other kingdom, the Moors, lived every manner of strange and wonderful creature.” It can be seen that there is a clear stereotype of humans as being completely materialistic and immoral. In the movie itself, Stefan is very obviously corrupt and power hungry as he betrays his friend (stealing Maleficent’s wings) just to become king. There is something to be said about the materialism within humans. It is very common for humans to always crave possessions or money or power because they seem so appealing. This is the bane of many problems within our society. Since success is treated like a competition, people are willing to take measures legal or illegal that are objectively immoral just to attain power and money. Maleficent almost fell into the metaphorical hole that the humans inhabit by taking revenge on Stefan’s daughter Aurora, an innocent girl. However, Maleficent proved to be better than the humans as she realizes her rash mistake and does everything in her power to save the young girl.

At the end of the day, it is isn’t Prince Phillip (Aurora’s potential lover) who saves Aurora, but rather Maleficent herself. The curse that was placed on Aurora stated that only a true loves kiss would free her from death. True love in movies is almost exclusively represented as a relationship between two intimate lovers. However, what Disney is showing us is that true love extends beyond a boyfriend or girlfriend. True love can be seen between father and son, mother and daughter, or in this relatively odd case a mother-figure/care taker (Maleficent) and her daughter-figure (Aurora). Maleficent proved further that hatred is not permanent. Maleficent hated Aurora because she was wronged by Stefan and held it against his daughter. She was the bigger person however, as she learned to let go of this hatred and learn to love the innocent and helpless soul that she wrongfully doomed. She went from casting a spell that would kill Aurora to having a sense of true love for the girl, which sends a strong message about remaining open minded.