Movie Review: Maleficent Turns Beneficent

CEBU, Philippines -  This is the battle cry of the movie "Maleficent." After the original Disney fairytale "Sleeping Beauty" in 1959, Maleficent proves that she is the character to reckon with. Shown in theaters just recently, Maleficent makes a huge comeback as one of the fairytale's greatest villain of all time.

As the story has it, Maleficent was betrayed by her man - who later then became King Stefan. With the aggravation of anger and hatred Maleficent curses Princess Aurora to revenge against the princess' father, the King; the curse being that the princess will prick her finger on a spindle by her 16th birthday and fall into death-like sleep until true love's kiss breaks the spell.

On the downside, during Aurora's blooming years, Aurora is sweet, kind and curious, brave, protective and very loving with her fairy godmothers. Against all odds, Maleficent eventually remorseful for the hate and revenge she had on baby Aurora, Maleficent is able to love again when she sees what a lovable and generous lady Aurora has become. She realizeshow Aurora is so kind to the environment, and comes to understand that Aurora has nothing to do with the sin his father King Stefan did.

Maleficent makes us aware of the many things that we have to look within ourselves. Values to make us become the person other people will look up to.

Some of the lessons and quotes from the movie are:

First impressions aren't always true.

The movie begins with the meeting of Maleficent and a young boy trying to steal a jewel from her kingdom. The boy was named Charles, who  would eventually go on to become the king of the land. After confronting Charles about the theft, Maleficent takes the jewel he stole and threw it into a lake. Charles tells Maleficent that if he knew she was going to just throw the precious jewel away, he would have kept it. In reply, Maleficent tells Charles she didn't throw it away. Rather she delivered the jewel home.How many times do we see an action and quickly jump to a conclusion? There's a danger in jumping to conclusions without knowing the facts. That first impression may be wrong!

Maleficent: "You are no king to me."

Titles are meaningless unless you have the respect of the people you lead.

Temptations can destroy us.

Once Stefan heard the old king’s  proclamation that the person who can kill Maleficent will become the new king, Stefan begins a plot to kill that turns his heart dark and undeniably leads to his downfall.

Hatred and revenge can make one the villain.

Much like the temptation that destroyed King Stefan, hatred and the desire for revenge can turn one person into a villain.

A story always has two sides.

Maleficent opens the eyes of the viewers about the two sides to every story. Stop closing the possibility of another side to the story.  Examining the sides of the stories, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

A person's heart can be restored.

No matter how badly a person have been hurt, there is always a possibility the heart can be healed.

Sometimes the villain and hero is the same person. Even in the movie, Maleficent was the villain yet she was also the hero.

Let us see some reactions and lessons young viewers have to say:

"I really like how the story of Maleficent was told because it shows that everyone has their own story. We may see people as bitter or wicked, but it is because they have experienced something painful and that makes them become a totally different person from who they really are. I have learned in the movie that everyone has a chance to change. The mistakes we make gives us a chance to become a better person, and to remain hopeful that kindness and love are still the best thing anyone could give and have."   - JanerelGayon, Masscom Student

"Maleficent was obviously a break from the usual Disney movie themes that centered on love stories between a man and woman. The telling of Maleficent's story was similar to how Elphaba from Wicked became the Wicked Witch of the West. For me, the movie was okay. The exposition of true love's kiss at the end was surprising. I would watch it again on DVD."  - Philip Lapinid, Producer/Writer

"I strongly think that the telling of Maleficent's real story was intended for those who easily judge others based on looks and history. You see, it takes effort and time to know and understand the truth. So, yeah. Maleficent was magnificent."   - Ram Morales, Educator

"The movie "Maleficent" is great. It portrays the behind-the-scene life of an antagonist from another movie. The movie shows that people should not be judged by its cover. Maleficent was an evil character in the past, but this recent movie changes our view on the classic villain."  - Anton Ven Wycoco, IT Student

"The movie "Maleficent" dresses the plot from a children's story to a young-to-middle adulthood literature. Presented in stingy yet delectable fashion, the movie comes in a unique flavor of twisting your previous literary knowledge of Maleficent from her usual villain role. The well-polished presentation highlights the antidotal value of love - this time from a godmother - which consoles a number of hopeless romantics yearning for true love from a prince charming. Yay!"  - John Louie Zabala, Librarian

"The movie's storyline is just like any ordinary movie I've seen in the past. The usual good-turned bad-turned-good movie. That is if you're just gonna judge it based on the movie itself. However, if you've seen the movie's classic and original story "Sleeping Beauty," for sure "Maleficent" would really blow your mind away with all the twists and turns and the paradigm shift. You're not gonna see "Sleeping Beauty" the way you used to be. And you'll even love Maleficent more than you have loved Aurora."  - Carl Dave Ang, Training Supervisor

Indeed, the movie was not just a movie at all. It was some force that made viewers realize certain things about life. It made them realize that the goodness of the heart always prevails.