Movies: Angelina Jolie talks Maleficent

(From Geektyrant)

Io9 tips us off to an Angelina Jolie interview where she gives us a glimpse into the Maleficent movie:

"It's not anti-princess, but it's the first time they're looking at this epic woman...I hope in the end you see a woman who is capable of being many things, and just because she protects herself and is aggressive, it doesn't mean she can't have other [warmer] qualities. You have to figure out the puzzle of what she is. It sounds really crazy to say that there will be something that's good for young girls in this because it sounds like you're saying they should be a villain. [Maleficent] is actually a great person, but she's not perfect. She's far from perfect... In general, it's a very good message to say, "let's look at something from the other side." But then also, what our challenge will be - and the script writer [Linda Woolverton] has already cracked it - is not to simplify it, not to just reverse the story but tell a bigger story that doesn't point the finger [at Princess Aurora] either. It doesn't flip it." (Full Article)

I am fascinated by this movie.  As the self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil," she is one of the few Disney villians who doesn't have a clear motive, aside from just being evil. Yes, she says she should have been invited to the party, but what does the Mistress of All Evil want to be at a baby's christening for?

The hook might be in her response when Merriweather says she wasn't wanted. She seems genuinely surprised. The rest of the scene, her feelings are veiled under a zen superiority and biting sarcasm, before the curse and maniacal laughter ensues.

I think there is a lot to mine here, in a character that most of us just took for granted as EVIL. I love that they are not vilifying Sleeping Beauty, just expanding the story to include Maleficent's point of view. 

It is also kind of refreshing after all the talk of Evil queens in the Snow White adaptations, and how women fall in to the categories of virginal innocent heroine, or slutty evil bitch. (And this one).