| Director | Robert Stromberg |
|---|---|
| Genre | action film, adventure film, cinematic fairy tale, dark fantasy, drama film, family film, fantasy film, romance film, romantic drama, teen film |
| Runtime | 97 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $180 million |
| Box office | $759.8 million |
Maleficent is a powerful fairy living in the Moors, a magical forest realm. As a child, she meets a human boy named Stefan, and they fall in love with each other. However, as they get older, they grow apart, with Stefan's love overshadowed by his ambition to be king, while Maleficent becomes protector of the Moors.
When King Henry attempts to conquer the Moors, Maleficent mortally wounds him. On his deathbed, he declares whoever kills her will be king. Stefan visits Maleficent and drugs her. Unwilling to kill her, Stefan instead uses a bracelet made of iron, which is lethal to fairies, to burn off her wings and presents them as "proof" of her death. While distraught by her loss, Maleficent saves Diaval, a trapped raven, from a farmer by turning him into a human. Diaval offers his service and tells her of Stefan's coronation. Infuriated over the betrayal, Maleficent grows cruel and bitter, ruling the Moors with an iron fist.
Years later, Diaval informs Maleficent about the christening of Stefan's newborn daughter, Aurora. Maleficent arrives uninvited while three pixies, Knotgrass, Flittle, and Thistlewit, are bestowing magic gifts, and places a curse on Aurora: before the sun sets on Aurora's 16th birthday, Aurora will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a death-like sleep. Maleficent mocks Stefan's plea for mercy, but states Aurora's curse can be broken by true love's kiss, which she and Stefan both believe is nonexistent. Stefan orders the pixies to hide and protect Aurora in a forest cottage until after her 16th birthday. He also destroys every spinning wheel in the kingdom, hiding their remnants in the castle dungeon; he then sends his army after Maleficent, but she surrounds the Moors with a wall of thorns. Over the years, Stefan begins mass-manufacturing iron weapons nonstop and grows obsessed with killing Maleficent to the point of insanity, even refusing to see his wife on her deathbed.
Maleficent and Diaval watch Aurora grow from afar, and secretly begin taking over care of her from the incompetent pixies. After several face-to-face encounters with Maleficent, whom she regards as her "fairy godmother", Aurora bonds with her and regularly visits the Moors. Realizing she does not have the heart to hurt Aurora, Maleficent privately and unsuccessfully attempts undoing Aurora's curse, forgetting she made "no power on earth" able to do so. Meanwhile, Aurora meets Philip, a prince from the neighboring kingdom, and both take a liking to each other.
Before Aurora’s 16th birthday, Maleficent allows her to live in the Moors. However, the pixies are eventually forced to tell Aurora the truth about her family and the curse. Hurt and betrayed, Aurora confronts Maleficent and returns to her father’s castle, where King Stefan imprisons her and scolds the pixies for failing to protect her. As night falls, the curse takes control of Aurora, leading her to a spinning wheel where she pricks her finger and falls into a deep, death-like sleep.
Wanting to save Aurora, Maleficent and Diaval kidnap Prince Philip and sneak into the castle, but Philip’s kiss cannot wake her. Filled with regret, Maleficent says goodbye to Aurora and kisses her forehead with genuine maternal love, which finally breaks the curse and awakens her.
As they try to escape, Stefan and his guards attack them. Maleficent turns Diaval into a dragon, but they are eventually overpowered. Aurora frees Maleficent’s wings, allowing her to fight back. Although Maleficent refuses to kill Stefan and tries to end the conflict peacefully, he attacks her again and falls to his death from the tower.
After Stefan’s death, Maleficent removes the thorn wall, restores the Moors, and crowns Aurora as ruler, bringing peace between the two kingdoms. Aurora also begins a romance with Philip. The narrator reveals herself as the elderly Aurora, the one people called, the "Sleeping Beauty".