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...