Maleficent vs Sleeping Beauty

Since there's been quite a bit of a debate over which movie people prefer between these two, I decided to take a look at them myself. Given that Sleeping Beauty is regarded as one of the best Disney animated classics & Maleficent has Hollywood starlet Angelina Jolie along with big budget CGI under its belt, this is no surprise. But I'm here now to see which movie I prefer & keep in mind, this is all opinion based. If you prefer one over the other, that's fine. So without further ado, let's see which movie didn't make me want to fall asleep into an eternal slumber!

Well, we need to see which movie did the Sleeping Beauty tale more justice! This is Best Story!
Story

Maleficent takes the Wicked & Frozen formula by turning a well known evil villain who revels in her evilness into a sympathetic woobie. But unlike Wicked, this doesn't work at all. Why? Because they completely change the story to benefit Maleficent's arc making the plot & characters purely black & white while Wicked kept the Wizard of Oz story intact because that acted more as a prequel & showed the 'behind the scenes' of what was going on during the events when Dorothy arrived in Oz. But not only does the movie tamper with all of the story (except for the christening scene playing out just like Sleeping Beauty), but it really hurts the characters & what kind of role they play. Seriously, this movie somehow made Phillip even more bland & useless than the original & Stefan being a villain...we'll get to that in a bit! Anyway, this focuses more on Maleficent acting as a mother figure to Aurora (seriously, she calls her Fairy Godmother) despite cursing her & none of it works. Not only are the scenes annoyingly cloying, but it just completely undermines her 'evilness' after her change & the entire purpose of Aurora being taken away by the fairies as a baby. And despite Maleficent being the focus of the film, the tone just felt jarring with the dark & light scenes unlike the original because there is no sign of balance thanks to the numerous amounts of reshoots & cutting out a lot of backstory for her (which probably wouldn't have helped how badly written she was anyway) & the times between Stefan being king & Aurora being born. But the worst part of all of this has to be that I felt like I was lied to when this movie was being advertised because it looked like we were. This movie undeniably ruins the original because of how much it tries to connect itself to the 1959 film while trying to be its own thing. Long story short, it's trying to be so many things at once when it's impossible to do.
With Sleeping Beauty, it's as by the book as it gets, but makes a few minor changes to its source material, which make sense for a movie like this. And despite it being called 'Sleeping Beauty', it's actually more about the fairies having to take care of Aurora to prevent the curse along with helping Prince Phillip get to his love while defeating Maleficent. However, given that Aurora is put to sleep from the halfway point, her lack of screen time makes more sense & it does leave room for plenty of development & action with the other characters, in particular the fairies. The dark & light scenes are perfectly balanced & despite it being pretty cliched, the emotions behind them are strong & it really has its own charm thanks to the simplicity behind it. While the main characters aren't that interesting, the side characters all the more make up for it & the final battle. On top of that, the animation is gorgeous & Tchaikovsky's music used from the Sleeping Beauty ballet suits each scene. But I must not forget Maleficent because her actions throughout make her undeniably one of the best Disney villains ever created. And given its reputation as one of the best Disney animated films of the company's golden age partly thanks to its memorable villain, there's definitely reasons behind why!
I'm not gonna act like Sleeping Beauty is the best written Disney film, but the movie knows exactly what it wants to be: a simple fairytale. And given the mess of a plot Maleficent is, it's pretty obvious what the winner is for me. Point goes to Sleeping Beauty!
Winner: Sleeping Beauty

Well, we need to see where Maleficent & the rest of the characters live
Visuals

Now, I know this will be a bit more complicated given that one's obviously animated & the other live action with a lot of gratuitous CGI!
There's no denying that the look of Maleficent is beautiful! The setting of the kingdom & the moors all create that fairytale atmosphere & they do a good job at recreating some places from the 1959 film while having its own twist. The character designs on the creatures from the moors can get creative & even the costumes manage to look like the Disney movie & suit their characters. The costumes also manage to capture the fantastical But even with all that, the problem I have with the look is, while creative, it can look...generic. As in it looks like other big budget live action gritty fairytale flicks at the time & the moors themselves look a lot like something out of Blue Sky's Epic. It doesn't really help that this movie is definitely a style over substance film & therefore heavily relies on the use of CGI & green screens up to the point that it can get VERY distracting. But I will say it still makes the film have more of that fantastical feel & some of the effects are cool, especially when Maleficent has people sleeping while floating in mid-air as if they're underwater. And when the fairies have a VERY uncanny valley feeling to them thanks to the CGI, this really damages the movie. Given that the budget was $180 million, it's pretty clear most of the money was put into this. Well, it definitely looks great, there's no denying that, but there's still a few nitpicks thanks to the over-reliance of the CGI.
The animation in Sleeping Beauty was definitely different compared to the other Disney films at the time. Intended to go for a 'moving picture' quality, the animators did a very good job making the film look like a moving tapestry with the more angular backgrounds & character designs, which definitely have that classical Marc Davis style he's known for. But without a doubt the character animation is where the movie shines thanks to the mix of rotoscoping on humans like Aurora & especially during the fight with the Maleficent dragon thanks to the fast pace & grand scale of the fight. The look of the film is also very unique during the scene when the fairies give Aurora their gifts & when Maleficent hypnotizes Aurora to prick her finger on the spinning wheel, adding more of a mystical yet creepy atmosphere. It without a doubt has some of the best hand drawn animation from Disney & to be honest, I don't see anything wrong with it.
While this was a pretty difficult one to compare, I lean more towards Sleeping Beauty because while Maleficent looks gorgeous in its own right, it just doesn't quite capture the originality of the former. Point goes to Sleeping Beauty!
Winner: Sleeping Beauty

Well, every Sleeping Beauty of course needs a slumbering princess waiting to be awakened with a kiss! This is the Best Aurora!
Aurora

Outside of the funny coincidence that she has played the loves of both of Brangelina, Elle Fanning's take on Aurora is...OK. Not that her performance was bad because she was good & I do appreciate the decision to cast an actual teenager to play Aurora, but this does not negate how boring;y written she is. While they try to make her more spunky during her scenes with Maleficent & contribute more in the final battle by getting Maleficent's wings back to her, she just comes off the same: bland with no dimension. It doesn't really help that we see more of her childhood in this doesn't even seem to be fazed that both her parents are dead by the end of the film. I know the focus is more on the mother/daughter relationship between the two, but it can't really work when Aurora isn't executed the best while still having interesting qualities.
Disney's Aurora on the other hand is pretty infamous given her lack of personality...and it still stands up to the point that she's my least favourite Disney Princess. Yes, I may not like Aurora in Maleficent, but I'm not gonna act like the original Aurora was the best written character either. All she does is dream for a prince to sweep her off her feet while talking with her animal friends about feeling overprotected by her 'aunts'. I mean, despite being called 'Sleeping Beauty', she literally only has 18 lines & is put to sleep at the halfway point. So is there anything good to say about her? Well...she's nice to animals & she must have a sense of honour & trust given that she willingly went back to the castle with the fairies even after finding out the past 16 years of her life have been a lie & that she can't see the man she loves again (even if he just happens to be her fiance). Aurora does embody the graceful princess stereotype Disney is infamous for, although I guess part of it is understandable given that she was pretty much socially isolated for all her life & didn't know anybody besides her 3 overprotective 'aunts', she most likely doesn't understand much about the real world, akin to Cinderella.
This one is admittedly difficult for me because Aurora in both versions is pretty much the same & can really qualify as more of a plot device than an actual character. You know what?  I'm calling it a tie! But that doesn't mean there'll be a tie for the rest of this post!
Winner: Tie.

Both movies need a loving father caring about the safety of his cursed daughter! This is Best King Stefan!

King Stefan

Yeah, it's safe to say that Stefan in Maleficent is...different to say the least. How? Well, they turned this kind & loving king & father into a tyrannical madman. They attempt to give him development with his feelings for Maleficent before he became king & his conflict over cutting her wings, but all of that is negated because he never truly acknowledges it. None of this is supported by the fact his descent into madness is barely explained or delved into because he is so intent on killing Maleficent that he puts his mission over his own beloved wife in her death bed (yes, really). Seriously, he even has his own daughter locked up once she returns to him after several years of being separated while pretty much forgetting about the reason behind why he wanted Maleficent dead in the first place! And to add insult to injury, he just has to gloat to her over not having her wings rather than be grateful she saved his daughter (despite obviously taking that from Frozen)! It doesn't really help that Sharlto Copley's acting is awful during his crazy scenes with his obviously put-on Scottish accent which makes him sound like he's imitating Fat Bastard from Austin Powers! I never took this character seriously because there are never any scenes after his turn to the darkness which acknowledge his past feelings for Maleficent & all it does is further support the movie's notion of a black vs white mindset rather than having something called moral ambiguity!
Stefan in Sleeping Beauty on the other hand is such a kind & loving person that it made me go in disbelief they turned him into the villain for the former movie! His love for his daughter shines throughout and given that he had the balls to confront the mistress of all evil & let the fairies take Aurora away from him, it shows how far he's willing to go for her safety. His humbleness also extends to his friendship with King Hubert, which is very funny to watch even with the arranged marriage set up for their children. I may not have as much to say about the original Stefan, but that's because there's absolutely nothing wrong with him in this version! Seriously, the only flaw I could find was that he didn't have as much screen time as I would've liked him to have had & even at time, the screen time he does get is put to good use & shows more of his personality!
Yes, the obvious winner is the original Stefan because when they turn such a soft spoken & kind man into a one dimensional moustache twirling bad guy with a bad Scottish accent, you know you're in trouble. Point goes to Sleeping Beauty!
Winner: Sleeping Beauty

We also need some fantastical fairies & a handsome prince to help save Aurora! But who was better? This is best Side Characters!
Side Characters

The side characters in this are undeniably watered down compared to their animated versions in Maleficent. Maleficent's raven, now called Diaval, is oddly turned into a human for most of the movie along with shapeshifting into other animals & while he can admittedly be likeable (if not for Sam Riley's good looks & sweet scenes with Aurora), he acts more as Maleficent's moral conscience & helps take care of baby Aurora! Oh yeah, and he's the one who turns into the dragon instead of Maleficent (you heard right), making her lose more of her badassery in the process! Phillip is pretty much useless & somehow has less of a personality than his animated counterpart despite Brendan Thwaites good looks. And King Hubert isn't even in this film, but the last king before Stefan sort of resembles him & he's just a jackass that's after Maleficent & the moors for no real reason but then dies & sets up the former farmboy Stefan's turn to evil by offering the man who manages to kill her his daughter's hand in marriage to become king. But then there comes the worst of the bunch, the three fairies! NOT named Flora, Fauna & Merryweather for no reason (seriously, I don't even remember their names in this), they just spend most of the movie doing annoying slapstick for 'comedy' while completely neglecting Aurora up to the point they don't even notice her falling off a freaking cliff as a child & literally force Phillip to kiss her awake despite only just meeting her! This portrayal is beyond insulting to the original because they have no redeeming qualities to make up for their shortcomings! Not even freaking Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple & Leslie Manville can make up for it!
And speaking of, while the side characters in Sleeping Beauty play a bigger role compared to the titular character, the writers make up for it by actually giving them something called likeable personalities! The three fairies, while a bit naive & can bicker over silly things, are still aware that everything they're doing is for the love they share for Aurora along with ensuring her safety & clearly knew how to take care of her properly. And even at that, the movie showed they still had a few of their shortcomings with trying to be human without making them blithering idiots even though they accidentally reveal Aurora's location to Diablo. And they even redeem this by playing an even bigger role by helping Phillip during his quest to defeat Maleficent & save Aurora from her curse and it's genuinely sad when they blame themselves for what happened. And yes, Phillip may be still bland with the personality of a plank of wood, but compared to other Disney Princes at the time, at least he had a much bigger speaking role by actually having a (brief) conversation with Aurora & saved the day by killing a freaking dragon & kissing Aurora awake! And as for his father, King Hubert, he's really there for comedy relief, but he is genuinely funny in his scenes with Stefan even after their ridiculous argument over Phillip being good enough for Aurora, his more jolly personality shows how much their friendship means to each other. Maleficent's raven Diablo stays as he should be & his speaking is replaced by Maleficent's funny yet freaky goons.
While the side characters act more like main ones in Sleeping Beauty, I much prefer them thanks to their more likeable & memorable personalities while Maleficent just flanderizes its supporting characters up to the point they make me hate them (except for one). Point goes to Sleeping Beauty!
Winner: Sleeping Beauty

Well, we're finally down to the big one! Given that her name literally means to do evil or harm, we need to see which one does it better! This the Best Maleficent!
Maleficent

I know people are going to say they prefer the 2014 Maleficent because she's more fleshed out, is given more sympathy & Angelina Jolie's amazing performance. But I have one single thing to say to everyone: you're all full of crap.
I do agree that Angelina Jolie genuinely tries in her performance & she did an such excellent job, but that in return just makes me sad that her acting talents are wasted on such an awfully written character. The reasons behind her change into 'darkness' are so ridiculously cliched with the whole 'scorn by a man' scenario (including an asinine metaphor for rape when she discovers Stefan cut off her wings) that there's no build-up whatsoever! Literally one minute she's the benevolent protector of the moors, the next she's full on evil with dark magic clad in black & making the creatures bow to her every whim! And even with that, the film changed many significant scenes from the film to make her still look 'heroic', like changing her mind that Aurora would sleep rather than die when she's cursed! It felt so so sudden that the scenes with Aurora bringing out her maternal side up to the point that she'd try to revoke the curse felt so annoyingly cloying & nonsensical. Turning her into an annoyingly sentimental 'Fairy Godmother' was without a doubt the worst thing they could do to this character that it made me want to get the animated Maleficent to show her how its done! And despite turning Stefan into probably one of the worst I've ever seen, that can't stop me from seeing all the flaws in making Maleficent the hero of this tale! It just feels...wrong taking such a beloved Disney villain known for her wickedness & power! And before you defend that Once Upon a Time did the same with Regina, she actually had time for her development into becoming evil to stick, her motivations behind her change were much more understandable & original & it was actually a series of events which led to her downward spiral.
Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent meanwhile is without a doubt the winner. Even with her weak motivation behind inflicting the curse being that she wasn't invited to the christening, she all the more makes up for it with her genuinely threatening & powerful presence & how much she revels in all the evil she thrusts upon Aurora & her family. And even with that, it's clear that everybody in the kingdom is aware of her reputation. further supporting how terrifying she really can be & is clearly not afraid to hide it. Even today, she still scares me now rather it be through her incredible animation/design, actions, or Eleanor Audley's perfect voice work. And unlike the 2014 Maleficent, she's all the more badass with her huge dragon form and hypnotizing Aurora into pricking her finger which all the more supports that she will stop at nothing until the curse comes to pass no matter what. There's no defending what she does & that's without a doubt OK with it because this is a case of 'evil just for being evil' & love for power works to the character's advantage. There is a reason why she's considered one of THE greatest Disney villains of all time after all!
While Angelina Jolie's performance does capture Maleficent in essence, it cannot make up for the horrid material she's given with the cliched writing & backstory. The original Maleficent does more than justice to the original fairytale, but became an icon in her own right. Point goes to the original!
Winner: Sleeping Beauty

And the overall winner is Sleeping Beauty!

Well, honestly. I used to think Maleficent was OK for the most part because of the strong acting from Angelina & the visuals, but when I looked closer at it after a couple more viewings, I noticed that neither can negate the awful changes it made to the story. Sleeping Beauty despite its flaws with its main character is still a beautiful fairytale in its own right & even if you don't like it, I feel that you should at least appreciate it for the effort put into it & how it helped Maleficent gain popularity in the first place. Although given that a sequel to Maleficent has been announced...it's safe to say that I'm dreading it & questioning...why? What more do we need to see of 'Fairy Godmother' Maleficent & the bland Aurora? The former being a cliched overprotective parent towards the latter over her boyfriend? Oh no...

Ever After vs Cinderella (2015)

Now that I've sorted out my season 5 reviews & top 10 best & Worst Episodes list, I thought I'd get back to comparing fairytale/Once Upon a Time related movies. And given that the most recent live action Disney fairytale remake had been out (not counting The Jungle Book & Pete's Dragon), I thought it be fair to compare Kenneth Branagh's take on the 1950 Disney classic, Cinderella! So why am I not comparing Cinderella to the animated version? Well, I tried to in my head, but I thought they both had equal strengths & weaknesses so I made it a tie. And given that I wanted a clear winner for my post, I went with a second option: compare Cinderella with another live action version of the fairytale, 1998's Ever After!

Now, the simple plot of an abused woman going to to a ball thanks to the help of a bit of magic & her Fairy Godmother, falling in love a handsome prince & losing her glass slipper has been told time & time again on the big screen. This section asks which one of the two movies I'm comparing did it better! This is Best Story!
Story

I'm not gonna lie, this one is admittedly difficult for me to compare because they're like apples & oranges over their takes on the fairytale: one is a historical and feminist take on the Cinderella story while the other is undoubtedly a straight-up adaptation.
Ever After's take is much more progressive with its feminist historical take on the plot. However, the heart of the source material still remains while most fairy tale movies would just forget it to make it 'progressive'. And even then, the twists it adds are admittedly very fun & the roles the characters are pretty creative. It doesn't deviate from the story too much that it's unrecognisable, yet still manages to be original in its own right. The balance of comedy, drama & romance is very well executed thanks to the acting & especially the pacing & set-ups for scenes, none of which make the mood changes feel jarring or sudden. The romance is what keeps the heart of the story intact & I do love how the movie acknowledges other adaptations of the fairy tale at the beginning with the Brothers Grimm appearing, making the events of the movie feel more like an origin story.
Cinderella meanwhile, doesn't do ANYTHING new to the story other than expand Ella & Kit's romance (which I'll get to in a bit) along with changing a few of the characters' roles & scenarios behind their actions. It is definitely an adaptation like a puzzle where everything is as it should be & what it expands on is well done. The expansion of the relationships was a good choice , even if it can lead to some aspects being overshadowed by others, in particular Cinderella herself. Also, I'd be lying if I didn't say that the beginning was possibly one of the cheesiest & schmaltziest openings I had ever seen for a movie up to the point that it didn't feel like it was part of the actual film. It didn't ruin it for me, but that & the (while strong) 'have courage & be kind' message being hand fisted to the audience made me feel out of the moment at times.
The romance in both films also takes a similar approach as both sets of lovers meet before the ball. However, Ever After devotes much more time to it & it makes the chemistry & drama between them feel much more natural as they actually get to know each other & change for the better. And yes, this movie does have the whole liar revealed cliche & sad third act (with an admittedly pointless conflict involving Danielle being sold by the Baroness), but even then there's still more development thanks to Henry realizing the whole situation doesn't matter in the grand scale of things & Danielle actually saves herself after being sold. Cinderella's meanwhile attempts to do the same to some effect, yet it didn't truly feel like they knew each other properly before genuinely falling in love & getting married. Even then, it's never stated how long it took from Kit finding her to them getting married, so you could argue they had the proper time to get to know one another after she moved into the castle...Anyway, I don't think it helped that the characters themselves didn't have much chemistry, but we'll get into why in their separate character sections.
Ever After as an adaptation may have a lot of twists, but it still respects the characters roles, setting & heart of story while expanding upon it. Cinderella meanwhile, is so by the book that it doesn't really do much new & leaves it as predictable. It's definitely not bad because the good things in it are good, but I feel that Ever After's take is executed much better in its emotions & characters. It all really comes down to taste because for those who'd prefer a straight-u[ Cinderella tale will like the latter, but for me, I just prefer Ever After.
Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After

Well, the audience needs to be whisked away into the world of the characters! This is about which one did it better, this is Best Visuals!
Visuals

With stylistic choices, both films pull off the looks they're going for perfectly.
Ever After's take on 16th century France still manages to look spectacular even with the fantasy elements being completely stripped. The costume designs are all immaculate with great attention to detail, all of which managing to look beautiful & creative rather than boring & generic. The settings also manage to look pretty nice because of the accuracy of the time setting, like Danielle's farmhouse, Henry's castle & even all the forests Danielle & Henry go to looking romantic. However without a doubt, the ball scene is where it shines being very colourful & creative, both in costumes and setting. That's when the movie has that more fantastical element to it because compared to the admittedly more dull (while still pretty looking) scenes
Cinderella meanwhile goes all out with the visuals & they are undoubtedly some of the best I have ever seen for a Disney live action remake. With the grand sets & some of the most gorgeous costumes I've ever seen, they really help you feel like you're being transported into a fairytale world. Speaking of, The elaborate & colourful costumes all suit the character's personalities while still respecting the animated version, especially with the gaudy yet pretty stepsister's costumes & Cinderella's giant blue dress with a subtle butterfly motif. And like Ever After, the ball scene is really where the movie shines in its visuals for the same reasons. However, I wouldn't be lying if some moments with the CGI, while still put to good use, was really jarring & obvious. It's definitely not bad & the way it's used is absolutely gorgeous like when the Fairy Godmother turns the pumpkin into Ella's carriage & when the spell breaks during the carriage chase at midnight.
This is admittedly a difficult one for me because there isn't anything wrong with either of them. Although, I'd be lying if I didn't say I lean more towards Cinderella's visuals because the setting created a more fairytale-esque atmosphere in comparison to Ever After. So...point goes to Cinderella!
Winner: Cinderella (2015)

Well, which absuive stepmother is worse for our heroine in this fairytale? Morticia Adams vs Galadriel, this is Best Stepmother!
Stepmother

This one honestly is a pretty difficult one because there's so many similarities between them yet so many differences! Both Huston and Blanchett perfectly capture the types of villains they want to portray with Huston going for comedic yet still being a complete bitch while Blanchett's is more subtle with her cruelty & sociopathy yet having a degree of sympathy.
Baroness Rodmilla de Ghant is mostly there to torment Danielle & sneak and lie her way into the royal family's good books so Henry can marry Marguerite. However, while most of the abuse comes from Marguerite, she still really has a spiteful edge to her as she obviously forces Danielle into doing housework, steals the house's belongings & gleefully lets Marguerite burn the only possession Danielle had left of her father & wear the only dress (and reminder) she has left of her mother. And this is all before she publicly humiliates Danielle in front of the entire kingdom & continues to taunt her afterwards. (How could anyone love a pebble in their shoe?', anyone?') yet still gets worse up to the point that she sells Danielle! Seriously, despite her funny moments here & there thanks to Huston's perfectly over the top performance, I think it's safe to say that she rightfully gets her just desserts by the end!
Cate Blanchett's Lady Tremaine meanwhile, as mentioned, is given more sympathy as her hatred towards Ella is made clear when she overhears her new husband confess he prefers his first wife & daughter over her. What I liked about her was how slowly she led Ella into becoming the house's servant, showing a patient side to the character along with her true sociopathy when trying to take advantage of & manipulate Ella's connection to royalty. This however, could leave her feeling more like a character who wants to be in control rather than somebody who's actually in control. She's still complex & at times interesting don't get me wrong, but Blanchett's moments of being over the top felt out of place for the character she was trying to be compared to Huston. But even with that, she definitely did a good performance given how different of a role Lady Tremaine is compared to the more heroic roles she goes for.
So, while they're both good stepmothers in their own rights, I think I lean towards Ever After's version because she truly revels in her cruelty towards Danielle while Cinderella's never truly feels like. Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After

There always has to be 2 ugly stepsisters to add insult to injury to Cinderella's abuse. This is Best Stepsisters!
Stepsisters

Ever After's stepsisters are definitely given more personality & development compared to past versions. Marguerite is without a doubt the true evil stepsister as she tries to sneak her way into marrying Prince Henry & is the one their mother clearly favours. Yes, she can be a spoilt brat, but her abuse towards Danielle was so cruel to see that seeing her get her just desserts by being punched in the face was so satisfying to watch. Jacqueline, meanwhile initially appears to be the same as her sister, but actually really just follows what her mother says & is more of the black sheep in comparison. Her development in gaining a friendship with her stepsister, standing up to her mother & even getting her own little romance was really sweet to see & I loved the dimensionality it gave her. Hmm, thinking about it, maybe this was the inspiration behind Anastasia's change in the Disney sequels...
Cinderella's version with Drizella & Anastasia on the other hand is very different. Unlike Ever After, they're more there to be comic reliefs with their more dim-witted & bratty personalities, but they never really do anything that cruel or malicious other than be snarky towards Ella & make her do chores. Sophie McShera & Holliday Granger do a good job with their performances don't get me wrong, but I feel like they're just really by the book with their roles & even when they apologise to Ella at the very end, it feels like it came out of nowhere because they barely spend any time with her or truly realize the consequences of their actions. They are definitely not the worst versions of the characters at all, but they feel...cliched.
So, yes, there is a clear winner with the better stepsisters for me this time round! While Cinderella's stepsisters just play the roles while Ever After does the same, but with much more depth & development. Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After

On top of the Stepmother & Stepsisters, there has to be more characters to support Cinderella along the way! This is Best Side Characters!
Side Characters

The side characters in Ever After are...different to say the least. Given that this is historical, there are other characters that replace the traditional ones from the Cinderella fairytale. The most obvious one is the famed artist Leonardo da Vinci (no, really) as the movie's Fairy Godmother (Godfather...?). With a more philosophical & romanticized outlook on love & funny personality along with his wacky inventions, he does fit in surprisingly well as he becomes an ally for Danielle.  Another character I loved was Gustav, obviously the Buttons for this movie, as Danielle's good friend with a passion for art & he can have his adorkably funny moments with helping her & meeting his idol while not resorting to the 'friendzone' cliche. The rest of the servants like Maurice, have likeable personalities along with their funny one liners over how they can't stand Rodmilla or Marguerite & support Danielle.  The king & queen of France are given much more screen time as they pressure Henry into an arranged marriage, although it's clear they want him & their kingdom to be secure & warmly accept Danielle into their family despite her status. I wouldn't be lying if I said Monsieur Le Pieu (Richard O'Brien) felt unnecessary as another antagonist because he barely appears & is only briefly a conflict when Danielle is sold to him in exchange for the house's missing possessions near the end. But other than that, I enjoyed these side characters.
The side characters on Cinderella, meanwhile, are more by the book. The mice, Lucifer & other animal friends to Cinderella in this don't even talk & are much scaled down in comparison to the animated film while still keeping their quirky personalities. The King himself plays a very similar role to Ever After's King through pressuring their son into marriage, but I wouldn't be lying if I said I thought the emotions came through better in Cinderella's version because of the better established relationship. The Grand Duke is changed from the King's bumbling assistant to a villain wanting to prevent Kit from marrying Ella & being in cahoots with Lady Tremaine. Stellan Skarsgard's performance was good & I surprisingly liked this change as it made the whole 'find the girl who fits the slipper' scenario make more sense when Kit would have easily recognized Ella. Another character I very much enjoyed was The Captain of the Guard (Nonso Anozie) thanks to his friendship with Kit & funny one liners ('Has your cat learned to sing?', anyone?). Cinderella's parents are given screen time, but I wouldn't be lying if I said Hayley Atwell's mother came across as WAY too perfect (with her illness coming out of nowhere), even if her father is given more of a personality & actually tries to make all of his new family happy despite inadvertently causing the turn of events of the film during his conversation with Ella about his beloved first wife. But obviously, I cannot forget the Fairy Godmother, and I have to say that Helena Bonham Carter's performance is simply perfect! She really makes the most of her 5 minutes of screentime as a more eccentric & scatterbrained version of the character, leading to some of the biggest laughs in the film.
There's no doubt that the side characters all have their strengths in both versions, although I think I prefer Cinderella's because while Ever After's are creative & likeable, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I liked the more straight up versions of them this time round. Point goes to Cinderella!
Winner: Cinderella

Well, there always needs to be a Prince Charming to find the girl who fits the glass slipper! This is the best prince!
Prince

This one is admittedly an easier one for me, but I'll still compare and contrast these two.
Prince Kit is definitely better than his animated counterpart as he has much more of a personality and development both in his chemistry with Ella & relationship with his father. The scenes with the latter are genuine & emotional to watch even if they have lack of screen time & his acceptance of Ella despite her status was very heartwarming. However, besides that, I felt there wasn't that much to him & to be honest, I didn't find him that interesting because he can easily be qualified as the Prince Charming stereotype & his development felt cliched. But I guess a good one because Richard Madden is undoubtedly a talented & very handsome actor!
Prince Henry meanwhile, starts off as more rebellious as he doesn't want to go through with an arranged marriage, yearns for freedom & adventure and greatly dislikes his position as prince because of his beliefs that everyone conspires against him & takes advantage of it. But when he meets Danielle, his whole outlook on life & being king changes & it makes him much more interesting as a result. He does have much more of a personality & I very much liked his growth as a character, especially when he realizes the absurdity of the whole situation with the arranged marriage during his wedding (in probably the funniest scene in the movie) even after he shames Danielle for lying to him. His enthusiasm really does shine in his scenes with Danielle & I love that he appreciates how much she's changed his life for the better.
While Richard Madden does his very best as Kit, I can't help but prefer Henry because his arc feels much more human & relateable. Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After

And to top it all off, we need to discuss the most important aspect of this post: which maiden that fits the glass slipper better! This is Best Cinderella!
Cinderella

Now, I'm going to go over these two in reverse. Before I start with Ella, I have one thing to ask about her...how is she independent? While the movie attempts to make her more 'feminist', all it really does is make her more flawed and...bland. All the movie really does is negate the reasons behind her staying & putting up with the abuse she has to endure because of her informed 'independence' throughout. I can understand the reason behind why, but the fact we see her outside of her house nearly only negates all of that which leaves the magic of the ball scene less powerful. And let's just quickly compare her to her animated counterpart. The abuse in the animated version started when she was a child which gave Lady Tremaine all the time she needed to brainwash her into feeling guilty if she ever left, while in this, it's as an adult. This means that she doesn't feel like there's a sense of guilt because she leaves nearly all the time & even has friends to gossip with. And to top it all off, she actually does nothing to save herself from being locked in the attic & accepts instead of actually giving a crap & doing something about it. All of this also supports the fact that while they attempt to expand her gradual downward spiral into servitude by her family, it leaves her 'huge breakdown' when she's not allowed to go to the ball to be less emotionally investing. I mean, sure, Lily James really does try her best in Ella's huge breakdown, but I felt no real connection because she had that breakdown earlier when she realizes she's not part of the family after not being allowed to have breakfast with them. And even at that, all she really does is smile while staring into space. I'm not gonna lie, I first thought she was a thousand times better than the original when I first watched this movie, but after a few more watches, all I found were more flaws because it almost felt manipulative because the movie never truly portrays the character it wants her to be.
Danielle meanwhile, does have to face the consequences of what she does because she lies to Henry throughout almost the entire length of the movie. It doesn't make her unlikeable in the slightest though because her intentions from the start are good (heck, the reason she lies in the first place is to free another maid's husband from being taken into slavery), she met Henry through chance & it's clear she feels extremely guilty for lying while still sharing the same interests & a true connection with him. And while she is for the most part badass & independent, she still has times where she's vulnerable when she realizes her lie has gone too far, further showing that she still has flaws & is not perfect. Unlike Ella, she did have her limits with the abuse when it came to her deceased parents, making it all the more heartbreaking when she gives in to Marguerite's demands & is yet cruelly tormented when she burns the only reminder she has of her father. And even after she's publicly humiliated in front of the entire kingdom at her lowest point, she never loses her guard up to the point that she saves herself from & refuses to be treated like crap. And come on, how can't you like a badass sword wielding woman who befriends gypsies, punches her bitch of a stepsister in the face & is played by Drew Barrymore?
So, yes, there is a clear winner for me. While Ella is presented as 'flawless' while ironically being very flawed, I felt a much deeper connection with Danielle because she felt much more human. Point goes to Ever After!
Winner: Ever After

And the overall winner is Ever After with 5 to 2!

I'm not gonna lie, I thought Ever After was always the clear winner, but after watching the two back to back, I saw that both movies had their own strengths & weaknesses. And despite my problems with the 2015 Cinderella, in particular with its main character, I still enjoy watching it when I'm in the mood for a straight-up fairytale film. It's not bad at all & I still recommend people watch it because it was a very positive turn for Disney live action remakes as it was the first movie to actually respect the source material compared to the past ones like Maleficent & Alice in Wonderland. And with Ever After, I feel it's very underrated & I definitely recommend people go and watch it because it's smart, fun & romantic with charming characters & performances!

Top 5 Best & Top 5 Worst Season 5 Episodes

With season 5, given the very high stakes from the season 4 cliffhanger. So how did it hold up? Well...
With the Camelot/Dark Swan arc, at first I absolutely LOVED it because it looked like it was going to fix up problems involving the main characters & the formula of introducing new characters/lands per arc. It was actually making Emma feel like a more interesting character as she'd slowly be tempted to the dark side as we'd see all her family trying to help her in her situation along with the mythology of the Dark One being much more in depth than we've ever seen. They were so so SO close to actually succeeding this (despite Arthur being a pretty weak villain), but then one thing got in the way: Hook. It felt so sudden & out of nowhere that it made me scratch my head in disbelief they decided to make the last few episodes ALL about him along with them deciding to completely undermine Rumple's redemption/not being the Dark One arc by making everything go back to where they started with no foreshadowing instead of making the Dark Swan arc show the seriously high stakes it could have had. With the Underworld arc, I will say it did a bit better with the character development (even from Zelena of all people) & answering some questions to things that have happened in the past, but it felt like it dragged on & while Hades was a much better villain thanks to be goofiness yet threatening stance, the Underworld itself wasn't really that much special because it was pretty much Storybrooke with a red sky. Oh yeah, and Robin being killed off & Hook living was probably the worst use of Zeus I have EVER seen! And with all of this said...it has probably been the worst season I've seen so far next to season 2. I'm sorry, but that is how much the season underwhelmed me & to be honest, the only plots I really care about now are Belle's pregnancy & the Evil Queen returning for season 6, even if it looks like it does have more potential with the Land on Untold Stories coming into play and the announcement of the Aladdin characters appearing (FINALLY).
However, one of my rules is there has to be at least 1 good thing in all the bad. So unfortunately, unlike seasons 1, 3 and 4, this is going to be a Top 5 Best Episodes list instead of a Top 10 Best List to counteract the Top 5 Worst List. And when we get to the worst, oh boy, you're gonna be in for a treat! So, here we go, guys!

Best List
5) The Bear & the Bow. Now called me biased for loving Rumbelle centric episodes, but I genuinely enjoyed it regardless! Seeing Belle have her own little arc in the Camelot storyline was pretty fun as a breather from all the action going on with Emma as we see her go on an adventure with Merida. While admittedly, I didn't think the was as interesting as her past friendship episodes with Ariel & Anna, it was still good seeing their contrasting perspectives of how to handle the situation with saving Merida's brothers. The Storybrooke scenes I felt were more interesting thanks to all the action & character development from Rumple as he's forced into being the hero Emma needs to take Excalibur out of the stone through saving Belle from Bear!Merida. Seeing the banter between them throughout was great as they finally discuss their issues & having a more optimistic outlook by the end was pretty sweet after EVERYTHING that's happened between them. As a Rumbelle episode finally seeing them reunite post-coma, I don't think anyone expected that they'd have to bear with Bear!Merida (I know, terrible pun!)

4) Her Handsome Hero. Out of the 2 Belle centric episodes this season, I thought this one was more superior. Not only do we get even more development from  Rumbelle as they try their best to save their child despite their conflicting views on using dark magic, but even plot development because of Hades . Even the flashbacks were good with seeing the start of Belle & Gaston's (awkward) engagement, making it very clear they're like chalk & cheese despite the latter's more human yet egotistical personality with getting to know her. And I must mention Wes Brown was a nice replacement for Sage Brockleback as Gaston & seeing Belle stand her guard with him in the Underworld was also great to see, even if her romanticized attitude comes to bite her by the end. Add in some funny yet sweet chemistry between Robert & Emilie, it's no surprise this episode shows that Rumple can be really Belle's handsome hero...even if he has to use dark magic to do it!

3) Nimue. The reason why this one is so high on the list is because it finally answers questions to the show which have been stuck in the back of my head for a very long time. Not only was the romance between Merlin & Nimue engaging (with great performances from both Elliot Knight & Caroline Ford), but also the title character herself still had a degree of sympathy despite causing probably the biggest villain/conflict in the entire show. The Camelot scenes were also well done with showing Emma's development with struggling to let go the darkness inside of her despite the temptations to use it for good intentions & succeeding in obtaining the Spark of Prometheus with Merlin despite Nimue's attempts to manipulate her. Even with the subplot involving the rest of the group trying to infiltrate With VERY high emotional stakes, engaging characters & amazing acting from Jennifer, this episode really was a great way to show how EVERYTHING in the show started (seriously, am I the only one who noticed this butterfly effect?).

2) The Dark Swan. As the season premiere, this really was a great way to kick-start the Camelot/Dark Swan plot. With each character playing an important role in trying to get to Emma, it was a pretty funny seeing their conflicting opinions on how to deal with the situation. With more mythology on the Dark One immediately making it interesting & its connection to the Camelot plot, it was all really well established without the exposition feeling hammered down thanks to the funny interactions between Emma & Mind!Rumple. The addition of Merida may admittedly be a bit of a mix, but Amy Manson's performance was great & it was an interesting twist seeing a Pixar character be included in the show & I LOVED seeing a Disney icon be included as the Beauty & the Beast rose is FINALLY used acting as a timer for Rumple in his coma. Add in possibly the best last 3 minutes of a premiere ever, this leads to a very strong opening of the Dark Swan arc & the season.

1) Devil's Due. This is without a doubt the best Rumple centric episode I've seen in such a long time. Not only does it give bring back his complexity after the undermining of his development in the first half, but it also manages to give him a new edge of doing the wrong things for the right reasons because of his new more human motivation. Not only that, but the episode managed to even add some humanity to Milah after being portrayed as a one dimensional bitch in past episodes & it was a breath of fresh air to actually see her genuinely regret abandoning her son. The way Emilie's pregnancy was incorporated was masterfully done both as a new piece of character development for Rumple and an interesting plot with the deal he had made years prior coming back to bite him in such a tragic way, also making Hades a much more threatening villain in the process by using his clever loopholes to make the contract. Add in yet another stellar performance from Robert, this episode has been LONG due for Rumple fans!

Before we get into the worst of the worst, let's take a look at the honourable mention!

Honourable Mention:
Souls of the Departed. OK, I knew coming into this post that this had to be mentioned SOMEWHERE given that it is the 100th episode after all! With the high expectations that come with this milestone, this was a pretty good effort. Seeing so many beloved (dead) characters returning after quite a while was wonderful to see, especially the surprise appearance of Neal, Pan & to an extent Cora. But that's not really the main focus of this episode. It centres around Regina's development & relationship with her father both past & present as he manages to let go of his unfinished business & prove that she can truly be happy. However, I had a few issues because it uses the same formula of Regina trying to kill Snow which is yet again pointless & it just didn't have that epicness that's expected for much a milestone of an episode. But even with that, I'm not saying it's bad at all, it's just that it could have been a LOT more! But after 5 seasons, it was still a massive feat for the show to reach this far!

Given I thought there was another equally significant episode this season, I thought it be best to give out a second honourable mention:

Ruby Slippers. If I were to have made a top 10 best list, this probably would have been somewhere around 8 or 7. What I liked  in this was the much better team up of Ruby, Mulan & Dorothy in the flashbacks & Ruby being so determined to save the latter from her sleeping curse in the Underworld. And obviously, the real reason why this is an honourable mention is because of the LGBT romance between Ruby & Dorothy. Yes, there are (pretty big) problems surrounding the romance itself with the lack of pacing or development are still there, but the fact that not only does it depict an LGBT couple in a fantasy series aimed at families, but a TV series from DISNEY of all things is a step in the right direction. Oh yeah, and the Sleeping Curse on Belle (and her odd decision to trust Zelena over her husband) was probably the weakest way of taking Emilie out of the show for maternity leave, that's another important reason why this isn't on the best list! But anyway, rather it be 2 men, a man & woman or 2 women, this episode shows in Once Upon a Time, True Love will ALWAYS win no matter who it's with!

Now we have that out of the way, let me introduce to you my personal worst season 5 episodes!

Worst List
5) The Broken Kingdom. The best way to describe this episode is convoluted. Not only does it slow the action of the Dark Swan arc down, but it also felt way too cramped & therefore felt like it didn't know which plot to focus on. It doesn't really help that the present Camelot scenes ended up being uninteresting because of pointless bickering with David & Mary Margaret & the change of Arthur being a villain because of his obsession with putting Excalibur back together left him feeling ridiculously anticlimactic. Along with the subplot involving Hook trying to comfort Emma by riding her off into a forest of flowers to get rid of Mind!Rumple was pointless & annoyingly schmaltzy solely used as fanservice. Forget about fixing a broken kingdom, maybe the writers should've focused on fixing their broken writing with this episode!

4) Birth. This is definitely when the Camelot arc (and the whole season) really went downhill for me. Why? Well, as the title suggests, this would feature the birth of Zelena's daughter thanks to magical onion rings (no, really) thus continuing probably the absolute stupidest plot in the show. But that's not the true reason why, it's because they decided to make Emma selfish & annoying by forcing Hook to become another Dark One against his wishes & giving a giant middle finger to the other people who love her that went out of their way to save her! It doesn't really help that Emma's real plan in Storybrooke completely undermines her 'corruption', so she wasn't really that evil to begin with despite the entire arc leading up her downfall! So, not only was this the birth of Zelena's baby, this was also the birth of probably the stupidest twist next to Zelena's pregnancy I have ever seen in the show thus far!

3) Broken Heart. Wanna see Hook be an abusive jerkass to everyone for no real reason? No? Well too bad because that's what happens throughout this entire episode! All this episode does is make Hook go on a rampage for pointless revenge on Rumple & be an abusive dick towards Emma. It REALLY doesn't help either that the flashbacks freaking Merlin's death with the stupidest loophole ever to cast the curse & the reasons behind why are just confusing! And to add insult to injury, most of the flashbacks consist of everyone siding with Emma & Hook lying to her while making schmaltzy & pointless speeches over how they're gonna stop their curse despite it be freaking obvious they're not. Oh yeah, and the Rumbelle break up was without a doubt some of the laziest writing I have ever seen because it was entirely needless & it felt strange when Rumple finally became the man she wanted him to be! Yes, this episode definitely was heartbreaking, but for the completely wrong reasons!

2) The Brothers Jones. All I can describe this episode as is just pointlessly cliched. While Liam's development was more human & David's side plot with Cruella was really funny, none of these can negate the flashbacks being laughably ironic and the Underworld scenes having such a cliched story with Liam disliking Emma (for good reason) with pointless bickering & misunderstandings, that even a sitcom wouldn't stoop so low! Hook wallowing in his own misery & making all these declarations with not returning to Storybrooke was just pointless too & didn't make me feel sorry for him & obviously, the 'conflict' with CaptainSwan doesn't stick at all! But I know what you're thinking: Given that I loathe Hook & all the flaws of this episode, why isn't this number one? Well, oh boy, you're in for a treat for my number one worst! So overall, I'd rather listen to a whole Jonas Brothers album than have to endure The Brothers Jones ever again!

Now, for my number one this time round, it's actually for more than just 'it's so bad'. And the weirdest part of all of this is...it's a tie! There were two episodes this season that I thought were equally as awful & disgusting to watch, I had to put them together & they're oddly for the same flaws! I know it may be cheating, but when watching them back to back, I simply could not make my mind up over which one was worse. So in no particular order, my number one worst OUAT Season 5 Episodes are...

1) Swan Song. While there are such strong emotions behind them, I really feel that they are disgustingly wasted because of the situation going on. Hook It doesn't really help that the flashbacks were some of the most pointless ones I had ever seen that the 'theme' surrounding them felt so shoehorned & it felt unecessary to see Hook's backstory with his father when he's just a one dimensional douche! His 'change' after reveling in wanting to kill Emma  & her family felt like it came right out of nowhere & it felt disgusting seeing him portrayed as a martyr 'sacrificing' himself which was so dragged out despite being freaking obvious his death wasn't going to stick because the continuity of the show just needs to be changed for him & to further make Emma a selfish bitch who only thinks about her boyfriend! And I must not forget the most idiotic twist with undermining Rumple's redemption arc by making him go back to right where he started as the Dark One for no reason whatsoever other than to benefit Hook. It was just reprehensible because it feels like he's learned absolutely NOTHING after nearly freaking dying because of his horrible things he's done (well, thank fuck 5B made him morally ambiguous again). And no, Rumbelle baby-making sex does not make up for it in this episode! But do you REALLY want to know why this is the worst? It had SO much potential to be better. It felt frustrating to think throughout this 'I could be watching something better...and it's this!' Well, I don't need to explain anymore about why I loathe this episode because this really was the swan song for the worst in the Camelot arc!

1) Last Rites. Like Swan Song, this also has very strong emotions behind them & very strong acting to complement it (ESPECIALLY from Lana). However, I also found this equally as atrocious as the former for 2 reasons: Robin's death. Not only did Robin's death leave his character being insultingly wasted when we could have seen so much more of his backstory, but even the fact he felt useless throughout the season was more of an insult to Sean Maguire given that he was promoted to a regular for this only to be killed off for stupid drama! Even Emma really annoyed me with her ways of grieving for Hook & his side plot with Arthur in the Underworld was just boring with stupid loopholes & exposition. But without a doubt what makes it worse is that Hook is brought back to life thanks to a Zeus Ex Machina because all the writers care about is Hook  & Emma while needlessly screwing Regina over yet again! Sure, Zelena may have FINALLY done something useful for once by killing Hades, but this episode really changed my thoughts on CaptainSwan from an infuriatingly callous couple to an evil couple!

And that's my list for the best and worst Season 5 episodes! Sure, it may have been...underwhelming for the most part, but the good things that came out of it were REALLY well done. But with season 6 coming just round the corner, I really hope it will be an improvement compared to this mess! And by the looks of from what I've seen as mentioned before, it really does have A LOT more potential to be interesting!