Watch These Movies Before ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’

While most of the recent Disney live-action remakes have been borderline pointless recreations of the originals, with added CGI Will Smith, Maleficent at least mixes things up by retelling Sleeping Beauty from a new point of view. Angelina Jolie turns the demonic goddess Maleficent into a magical anti-hero. And the upcoming spooky sequel expands her story even further beyond the original fairy tale.

Watch these movies before Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

Sleeping Beauty

Before you see Maleficent 2’s subversive take on the material, you should probably see the material it subverts. The original 1959 Sleeping Beauty is a classic Disney animated feature, taking advantage of new technical achievements like 70mm widescreen. And while the story of the princess doomed to slumber until true love’s kiss is indeed timeless, you’ll easily see why Maleficent was always the star.

I Spit on Your Grave

First off, a warning. As one of the more prominent examples of the “rape revenge” exploitation movie, I Spit on Your Grave deals with sexual assault in uncomfortable ways. But that’s what makes it even wilder when you realize that the first Maleficent basically adapts the same beats of this depraved genre for a family fantasy film. After being seduced, betrayed, and mutilated by the king, of course Jolie is going to take brutal revenge.

Shrek

As part of its modern fairy tale satire, Maleficent makes typical heroic characters like Prince Charming and fairy godmothers look like worthless buffoons. And if you want some more of that action, look no further than Shrek, a movie that’s still pretty good even outside of the irony-poisoned internet.

Changeling

If you want another example of Angelina Jolie’s righteous anger at a world that wronged her, check out Changeling. Based on a true story, Jolie plays a single mother who’s basically gaslit by the entire Los Angeles Police Department when her child is abducted and they try to hand her off some random orphan instead. Clint Eastwood has some… issues. But when he’s a good director he’s a great director.

Batman Returns

In Mistress of Evil, Michelle Pfeiffer joins the cast as the scheming Queen Ingrith. And that’s honestly fantastic casting if you want someone who can hope to match Angelina Jolie’s sheer power. There are tons of great Michelle Pfeiffer movies to choose from. But since you’re all nerds we know you just want to see her as Catwoman again in Batman Returns.

Fantasia

Beyond her strength as a character, Maleficent just has a great, iconic design. Any pose she strikes just makes you want to bow down. But I must admit as a kid I frequently got her mixed up with Chernobog, a similarly malevolent and pointy Disney demon from Fantasia.

Girl, Interrupted

In Girl, Interrupted, Angelina Jolie earned an Academy Award for her portrayal as young sociopath Lisa Rowe. So between this and I Spit on Your Grave, it’s inspiring how truly dark Maleficent’s cinematic influences are, even if Disney will never admit it.

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