Maleficent: Mistress of Evil facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joachim Rønning
Produced by	Joe Roth Angelina Jolie Duncan Henderson
Written by	Linda Woolverton Noah Harpster Micah Fitzerman-Blue
Starring	Angelina Jolie Elle Fanning Chiwetel Ejiofor Sam Riley Ed Skrein Imelda Staunton Juno Temple Lesley Manville Michelle Pfeiffer
Music by	Geoff Zanelli
Cinematography	Henry Braham
Editing by	Laura Jennings Craig Wood
Studio	Walt Disney Pictures Roth/Kirschenbaum Films
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date(s)	October 18, 2019 (2019-10-18)
Running time	119 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$185 million
Money made	$491.7 million

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is a 2019 American 3D fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures, directed by Joachim Rønning, and written by Linda Woolverton, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Noah Harpster. It is a sequel to the 2014 film Maleficent, with Angelina Jolie returning to portray the title role. Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville also return to their previous roles, with Harris Dickinson replacing Brenton Thwaites from the first film and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein and Michelle Pfeiffer joining the cast as new characters.

After the release of the first film in May 2014, Jolie stated a sequel was possible. The project was officially announced the following June, and Jolie signed on in April 2016. Rønning, who co-directed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) for Disney, was hired to direct the film in October 2017, and the rest of the cast was added or confirmed in May 2018, with filming beginning that month at Pinewood Studios in England, lasting through August.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was released in the United States on October 18, 2019. It grossed over $491 million worldwide, although it needed to make around $500 million in order to make a profit when factoring in total budget, marketing and distribution costs. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism aimed at the "muddled plot and overly artificial visuals", but praise for the performances of Jolie, Fanning and Pfeiffer. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 92nd Academy Awards.

Plot

In the five years since King Stefan's death, Aurora has reigned as Queen of the Moors, with Maleficent as its guardian and protector. Despite her service, the neighboring kingdom of Ulstead, home to Prince Phillip, deems Maleficent a villainess, and while Phillip's father King John wishes for peace, his mother Queen Ingrith has been secretly preparing for war; in the hidden areas of the castle, workers make weapons and ammunition out of iron, deadly to all fairies. Diaval, Maleficent's raven and confidante, overhears Phillip proposing to Aurora, and tells Maleficent. While she advises against the union, Aurora vows to prove her wrong.

Phillip's parents host an intimate dinner, having invited Aurora, Maleficent, and Diaval. Maleficent maintains her composure as Ingrith taunts her throughout the evening by repeating the inaccurate story that has made the humans believe her to be evil: the story of Maleficent's sleeping curse on Aurora is only half the truth, because no one has ever been told the whole truth about her loving Aurora and sacrificing herself to lift the curse. Ingrith alludes to Stefan's death as murder, and openly claims Maleficent killed two human fairy poachers last seen near the Moors. Maleficent responds with equal iciness that humans have been kidnapping fairies, and hints that she believes the order to do it comes from the King or Queen.

Ingrith provokes Maleficent by dismissing her maternal bond with Aurora and claims that the marriage will make Ingrith her real mother, to which Maleficent reacts by angrily unleashing a burst of magical energy. John suddenly faints, and Ingrith accuses Maleficent of cursing him, which Maleficent denies to a disbelieving Aurora. Maleficent is prompted to flee without Aurora by the arrival of armed guards. Phillip urges his mother to try and awaken John with a kiss. Ingrith demurs, and her weak attempt fails because she does not love her husband – especially for their differing views on peace and war.

As Maleficent flees the castle, Ingrith's right-hand woman, Gerda, shoots Maleficent with an iron bullet. Wounded, Maleficent falls into the ocean, only to be rescued by a mysterious winged creature. She awakens in a cavern where fairies like herself have been in hiding. Among them is Conall, their peaceful leader who saved Maleficent, and Borra, a warlike fairy who favors open conflict with humans, who killed the poachers near the Moors. Maleficent is among the last creatures known as the Dark Fey, powerful fairies forced into hiding and nearly driven extinct by human oppression. She is also the last descendant from the Phoenix, an ancient and powerful Dark Fey ancestor. She needs to pass through certain stages in order to harbor her full potential. When she brought up a human, she cleared the initial stages and Conall insists on forgiving Aurora in order to gain her final phoenix stage, but Maleficient disagrees. Because Maleficent's magic is so powerful, Conall and Borra believe she is instrumental in ending the conflict with humans, either by peace or war.

Meanwhile, the magical denizens of the Moors are invited to the royal wedding, but Aurora grows disillusioned with being an Ulstead noblewoman. Later, some humans enter the Moors to gather flowers to use as weapons against the Fey. Sensing this, Maleficent and the Dark Fey go to the Moors to protect the flowers, but they are ambushed, and Conall is killed, prompting Borra to declare war on the humans. Aurora discovers that Ingrith cursed John using Maleficent's old cursed spindle, as she hates all Moor fairy folk. She confronts Ingrith, who reveals that she bitterly resents the Moors' prosperity during a time when her kingdom suffered, and also blames them for her brother's death; she plots to eradicate all fairies and woodland beings using the iron weapons as well as a lethal crimson powder developed by Lickspittle, a de-winged pixie. When the Moor folk arrive, they are trapped inside the castle chapel.

At Ingrith's command, Gerda unleashes the deadly crimson powder by playing the chapel's organ. The fairy Flittle selflessly sacrifices herself to save everyone as a last resort by clogging the organ, rendering it unplayable, while her friends Knotgrass and Thistlewit cause Gerda to fall to her death. The Dark Fey launch an assault on Ulstead but the palace soldiers begin massacring them until Maleficent, channeling her Phoenix power, joins the battle. She nearly kills Ingrith but Aurora appeals to Maleficent's humanity to spare her, and declares that Maleficent is her only mother. With Maleficent distracted, Ingrith fires her crossbow. Maleficent saves Aurora, but is struck by the arrow, dissolving into ashes. Devastated, Aurora grieves for Maleficent, but after Aurora's tears fall on the ashes, a revived Maleficent attains her phoenix stage.

Horrified and infuriated, Ingrith throws Aurora off the tower to kill her, prompting Maleficent to rescue her again. Phillip forges peace between the fairies and humans and the Ulstead soldiers stand down. Maleficent reverts to her fairy form and finally gives Aurora and Phillip her blessing, realizing they belong together. Lickspittle decides to stop following Ingrith's orders and gives Maleficent the spindle used to curse John and, previously, Aurora. Maleficent destroys the spindle and its curse, awakening John from his sleep. As she flees, Ingrith is stopped and captured by Borra and the other Dark Fey. As punishment for her crimes, she is transformed into a goat by Maleficent until she can accept the peace between the two people.

After Aurora and Philip marry, Maleficent returns to the Moors with the other Dark Fey, teaching the young fairies to fly. She promises to return for Aurora and Philip's future child's christening.

Cast

Production

Casting

In April 2018, Ed Skrein was cast in the film to play a dark fae, with Elle Fanning returning to play Princess Aurora from the previous film. Michelle Pfeiffer was also added as character described as a queen, later clarified to be an evil queen named Queen Ingrith.

In May 2018, it was announced that Harris Dickinson would replace Brenton Thwaites in the role of Prince Phillip, due to scheduling conflicts with the latter actor. Later it was also confirmed that Jenn Murray, David Gyasi, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Robert Lindsay had also joined the cast. Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville were also confirmed to reprise their roles from the prior film. In June 2018, Judith Shekoni joined the cast.

Filming

Principal photography began on May 29, 2018, at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Filming wrapped on August 24, 2018.

Visual effects

The visual effects were provided by Moving Picture Company and Mill Film, supervised by Jessica Norman, Damien Stumpf, Brian Litson, Ferran Domenech, and Laurent Gillet, with Gary Brozenich serving as the Overall Supervisor.

Music

On May 22, 2019, it was revealed that the film's score would be composed by Geoff Zanelli, replacing James Newton Howard from the previous film. The film marks Zanelli and Rønning's second collaboration, after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Zanelli said that "the storytelling in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is fantastic", for which he said that "writing [the film's] score is a dream come true". On September 20, 2019, the song "You Can't Stop the Girl" by Bebe Rexha, from the film's soundtrack, was released as a single.

Track listing

All music composed by Geoff Zanelli (tracks 1–22).

Release

The film was released on October 18, 2019, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, moving up from its previously announced date of May 29, 2020.

Marketing

The first teaser trailer for the film was released on May 13, 2019. On July 8, 2019, the official trailer for the film was released, in which Ejiofor's character was revealed. On September 4, 2019, Disney released a behind-the-scenes featurette in which the cast talk about the evolution of Maleficent's personality and some of the moral challenges each of the characters face in the story. On September 10, Disney released a black and white sneak peek detailing the makeup process to transform Angelina Jolie into Maleficent.

Novelization

A tie-in novelization of the film was published by Disney Publishing Worldwide on October 8, 2019.

Home media

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Digital HD on December 31, 2019, followed by a 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD release on January 14, 2020. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was released on Disney+ on May 15, 2020.

Accolades

See also

In Spanish: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil para niños