Angelina Jolie seems to have been born to play the role of the evil queen MALEFICENT in Disney’s new retelling of the story. The character is so iconic with children and adults worldwide, so how does one become MALEFICENT?
Of course it’s not just about donning a pair of horns and having green skin. Jolie had to undergo a full prosthetic transformation to become the evil queen from SLEEPING BEAUTY. And who best for the job but seven time Academy Award winner Rick Baker and his team. If you are unaware of Baker, there is no doubt you would’ve seen his fantastic work over the years, most notably in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, Michael Jackson’s THRILLER, and his specialty “ape” work in GORILLAS IN THE MIST and Tim Burton’s PLANET OF THE APES. Baker discusses some of the work that went into transforming Jolie into the evil queen:
“Personally, I thought for Angelina Jolie, you didn’t really want to do too much to her. For me, it was maybe horns and ears. I pretty much left her face alone.
Angelina wanted to wear appliances for Maleficent’s look, so I did a number of designs with appliances that were subtle. She also wanted a nose, which I actually thought could give her more of a Maleficent look. We ended up with numerous sets of cheeks and ears and horns in the beginning stages. First we made sketches and then later we actually sculpted on a cast of her head and made pieces for her to review”.
The most notable things are Jolie’s sharp cheekbones, definitely not her own as Baker explains how something so small can make such a big impact:
“It’s amazing because the appliances are less than a quarter of an inch at their thickest points and only about a half inch wide. They sit right at the crest of her cheekbones.”
However, Disney were very unsure with the use of such prosthetics, they wanted to take advantage of Jolie’s beauty. Jolie however felt it was important that the character remained scary and after several visits to the make-up room Disney felt the right decision was made. Jolie was very happy to endure a four-hour wait in hair and make-up each morning.
Such was Jolie’s transformation, most of the children auditioning for parts were terrified of her, including her own children, apart from little Vivienne Jolie-Pitt who portrays the young Princess Aurora.
It certainly seems like this film is so much darker than the original. Like most Disney films based on fairytales, the original subject matter is usually rather dark and violent. This new take on the fairytale is macabre and gothic without being too sinister. It is perhaps important to point out that this isn’t a remake of SLEEPING BEAUTY, it is Maleficent’s origin story and how she came to become so ruthless and evil. Basically her untold story and everything that Disney left out from her first appearance.
The story is about the ultimate betrayal and revenge. Maleficent is a somewhat sympathetic character and it isn’t hard to see why she becomes what she is. The pain we feel when our loved ones hurt us is deeper than anything, and all Maleficent is doing is reacting to that pain. The character is very complex and not your average villain; it isn’t an easy choice to define her as bad as you can kind of see where she is coming from.
It is very easy to see why this character has become one of the most iconic Disney villains. Not only is she visually stunning and imposing, she is a force to be reckoned with. In fact it seems she is more popular than Princess Aurora herself. This film is going to be a massive hit for Disney and I would love to see them retell some of their other classics like SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS or THE LITTLE MERMAID. After all the villains are usually much more interesting than the heroes and heroines.
MALEFICENT is released in cinemas in the UK today.
