Disney has a lot riding on the May 30th, 2014 film Maleficent, much in the same way it did with Lone Ranger, in that it’s a $200 million plus spectacle on a character that’s been around for quite along time and doesn’t have quite the hold that it may once have. That said, it’s being backed by Angelina Jolie and it’s more tied to the Disney Princess realm so there’s a lot more general interest in it here, though some of the stakes are the same. Directed by Robert Stromberg, it’s his debut in this form and now Disney has let loose with the first real promotion for it with a 90 second teaesr.
Plot concept: “Maleficent is the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty. A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.”[4]
