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Maleficent
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Maleficent is a sorceress, the self-proclaimed, "mistress of all evil" and main antagonist in Walt Disney's 1959 adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. She was animated by Marc Davis, and voiced by Eleanor Audley (who also voiced Lady Tremaine, the stepmother of Cinderella). She cursed the infant Aurora to "prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die" before the sun set on her sixteenth birthday after not being invited to the baby's christening. She is viewed as one of the most powerful and sinister of the Disney villains, as she lacks any of the "goofiness" generally present in the later ones, while still exhibiting something of a dark sense of humor.
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Maleficent is a sorceress, the self-proclaimed, "mistress of all evil" and main antagonist in Walt Disney's 1959 adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. She was animated by Marc Davis, and voiced by Eleanor Audley (who also voiced Lady Tremaine, the stepmother of Cinderella). She cursed the infant Aurora to "prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die" before the sun set on her sixteenth birthday after not being invited to the baby's christening. She is viewed as one of the most powerful and sinister of the Disney villains, as she lacks any of the "goofiness" generally present in the later ones, while still exhibiting something of a dark sense of humor. Her scenes in the climax of the film are among the darkest and most intense produced by Disney.
Appearance
Maleficent appears in the form of a tall, pale green skinned woman with yellow eyes and a horned headdress, symbolic of her dark magic. She is clad in a black and purple robe with bat wing-like edges, and wears a gold ring with a large circular black stone in it. She has a pet raven called Diablo (the bird's name is never mentioned in the movie), and a legion of goblins and troll-like entities at her command. In addition to this she carries a staff with a glowing green orb at the tip, through which she casts her spells, which include an ability to teleport herself from place to place or send bolts of lightning at enemies. She is also capable of shape shifting at will into numerous forms, including a floating light resembling a will-o'-the-wisp and a massive black and purple dragon. Despite this, she is in fact a fairy, like the other three fairy godmothers in the movie, rather than a sorceress. She is also renowned for her macabre beauty, possessing sharp, angled and striking features, and her attractive and seductive speaking voice.
Biography
Maleficent first appears in the film Sleeping Beauty in King Stefan's castle by means of supernatural teleportation during the christening of Stefan's daughter, Aurora. Her appearance is preceded by a gust of wind and accompanied by her signature green flames. She is outwardly courteous but implies she is offended that she didn't receive an invitation to the ceremony like the other fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. When she asks the king and queen why she was not invited, Merryweather speaks up and tells Maleficent that she is "not wanted." Shocked (or more likely, pretending to be shocked), she turns to leave this "awkward situation", giving the king and queen one last chance to make up for not inviting her, but the queen asks her if she was offended by this. Maleficent denies it, and offers to give a gift to Aurora to prove she bears no ill will. Maleficent then casts a spell that enhances the first two gifts and grants Aurora to be "beloved by all who know her" as well, but to punish the king and queen for their insolence, places a curse on Aurora, so that before the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Aurora will prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Merryweather, who still has a gift she can use, weakens the curse so that Aurora will fall into a deep sleep instead, with only a kiss from her true love to awaken her. The three fairies then hide Aurora until her sixteenth birthday passes, with angry Maleficent instructs her goblin minions to search for her with sixteen years wasted as the goblins focused on searching for "a baby." A furious Maleficent instructs her raven familiar Diablo to hunt down the teenaged Aurora. Once he succeeds, Maleficent visits Aurora on the night of sixteenth birthday in a form of a will-o-the-wisp, hypnotizing Aurora before luring her to a spinning wheel where she pricks her finger to fulfil the curse.
To ensure Aurora would not be immediately awakened, Maleficent and her goons trap Prince Philip, Aurora's true love, and take him to Maleficent's castle in the Forbidden Mountains (sometimes called Forbidden Mountain. Singular and proper noun). She taunts Philip before she retreats to her own tower, saying, "For the first time in sixteen years, I shall sleep well." Her intentions, as she explains to Phillip, are to leave him in her dungeon until he is an old man, and then to release him to awaken his true love after he has aged and she has not, since her sleep is explicitly stated to halt aging. When the fairies help Philip break out of Maleficent's dungeon, Maleficent throws spells at Philip to hinder him before deciding to personally deal with him herself, calling upon "all the powers of Hell" to transform into a dragon. Though she overwhelms him, the three fairies transfer some of their power to Philip's sword as he throws the weapon into her heart, mortally wounding her as she falls forward and her heavy weight causes a cliff to collapse on top of her to her death. All that is left of her is her robe, with the sword still in it as it blackens.
Other appearances
Maleficent is a recurring character on the TV series House of Mouse. In "Max's Embarrassing Date" (Episode 21), Maleficent sits across from Jafar in human form, and it was stated by Mickey that the two villains were on a date, after which Maleficent zapped Jafar. In "Halloween with Hades" (Episode 54) Mickey had to help Hades win Maleficent's heart after she turns him down. She also appeared in the spin-off movie, Mickey's House of Villains where she was constantly shown hanging around with Chernabog in her dragon form, hinting a relationship.
Maleficent is mentioned in the Nightwish song "FantasMic" from their 2000 album Wishmaster, in the lyrics Maleficent's fury / The spindle so luring.
Maleficent was also the final boss on the North American version of the video game Mickey Mousecapade created in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Maleficent's theme is heard during the intro of World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. At the end of the intro, the villainous cloaked sorceror is shown.
Kingdom Hearts
appears as a major antagonist in the Kingdom Hearts series. She is voiced by Susan Blakeslee in the English version and Toshiko Sawada in the Japanese version. Originally of the world Enchanted Dominion, Maleficent leads the group of Disney villains who seek to harness the power of darkness within Kingdom Hearts. Recruiting Hades, Captain Hook, Oogie Boogie, Ursula, and Jafar, Maleficent uses the ruins of Hollow Bastion as her base of operations while sending her forces across the worlds to find the Princesses of Heart. In the first Kingdom Hearts, she is built up to be the main antagonist, recruiting Riku to her side by offering him the means to save Kairi after she lost her heart while also manipulating him into believing that, since gaining the Keyblade, Sora stopped caring for him and Kairi and replaced them with Donald Duck and Goofy. However once defeated by Sora, Donald, Goofy and the Beast, Maleficent is unable to defend herself as she is attacked by Riku under the control of Xehanort's Heartless, who then unlocks her heart which transforms her into the darkness within it, her dragon form. Despite her transformation, she is still defeated by Sora, Donald, Goofy and the Beast, and all that is left of her is her robe. Xehanort's Heartless then reappears, telling them that Maleficent was unknowingly just another puppet of the Heartless after all, failing to see the darkness eating away at her own heart. He promptly steps on Maleficent's robe, which fades into thin air.
Maleficent is resurrected a year later in Kingdom Hearts II when her raven, Diablo, takes the remains of her robe to Yen Sid's tower in Twilight Town. She is later reunited with her lackey, Mighty Pete, who was absent from the first game due to him traveling worlds in order to create a powerful Heartless army for her. Putting her plans to obtain Kingdom Hearts on hold, Maleficent seeks a new base of operations so she can resume her intent, along with getting her revenge on Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Her plans in the game include attempting to take over the Disney Castle of the past and bribing the Kingdom Hearts versions of Yuna, Rikku, and Paine into spying on Leon's group (though the trio ultimately switch sides after being abandoned by Maleficent and told of Sora's cause). Eventually, she becomes a reluctant ally of Sora, as he can stop Organization XIII before they can get Kingdom Hearts' power instead of her. Last seen, Maleficent and Pete hold the Heartless at bay so Sora can make his way to Xemnas, with Maleficent intending to take the Organization's castle as payment. What happened to her and Pete after Sora and co. defeated Xemnas is unknown.
She is slated to appear in the upcoming prequel to the first game, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, along with her home world, Enchanted Dominion. In the trailer, Maleficent tells Terra about the Princesses of Heart that Master Xehanort is searching for. She also provokes Aqua into fighting her when she tells the girl of Terra's fate.
Fantasmic!
In the night time show Fantasmic!, performed at the Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios theme parks, Maleficent is one of the Disney villains portrayed in the shows. In the shows, the Evil Queen decides it is time to finish off Mickey Mouse once and for all, and invokes Disney villains to help her. They strike Mickey through his dreams and imagination, and Maleficent is the final villain to attack Mickey - the battle between Maleficent's European dragon incarnation and Mickey serves as the climax to the show. It is to be noted that Maleficent cries out before becoming the dragon: "Now you will deal with me, Mickey Mouse, and all the powers of my imagination!", whereas, in the original film, she proclaimed "Now shall you deal with me, O Prince, and all the powers of Hell!"
Kingdom Keepers
In the book series by Ridley Pearson, Kingdom Keepers, Maleficent appears as one of the first Overtakers the protagonists encounter as she intends to leave the confines of Disney World to take over the world. She recruits Jez with a spell due to the girl's abilities as a fairie could reveal her plans. Despite her power and reputation, Maleficent is one of more powerful Overtakers when she breaks the seal to revive Chernabog as they escape in an ice truck to Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Dream Along With Mickey
In the Dream Along With Mickey stage show at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Maleficent is one of the villains who appear onstage to threaten Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. Maleficent states that since people no longer believe in dreams, it's the perfect time for her to return to power and make the Magic Kingdom "the Place Where Nightmares Come True" - a play on the Disney parks' slogan of "the Place Where Dreams Come True." But Mickey leads the crowd in a chant of "Dreams Come True!" and scares away Maleficent's minions, Captain Hook and Smee, as well as defeating Maleficent herself.
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Maleficent also makes appearances during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Walt Disney World Resort. She makes an appearance through her voice in HalloWishes, a Halloween-themed fireworks show along with Ursula The Sea Witch, Jafar, and Oogie Boogie. Susan Blakeslee provides Maleficent's voice in those cases.
During the Disney Villains Mix and Mingle Halloween Dance Party at that same event, Maleficent hosts the party and summons up all the villains that attend, including her co-host Captain Hook and other villains, such as Cruella De Vil, Judge Claude Frollo, The Queen of Hearts, Jafar, Gaston, and The Evil Queen.
Queen Narissa
Queen Narissa (played by Susan Sarandon), the main antagonist of the 2007 live-action Disney movie Enchanted. As one of the movie's many tributes to classic Disney films, Narissa resembles Maleficent in many ways. The two characters resemble one another physically, and possess dark powers including the ability to transform into giant dragons. Both characters are obsessed with trying to kill a beautiful princess, and their death scenes are similar--except that in Enchanted, the princess is trying to rescue the hero rather than vice versa.
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