Maleficent: From a Parent’s Perspective

The much anticipated live action tale Maleficent released in theaters today.  I had the opportunity to view the film in a prescreening Thursday.  After seeing teasers and meeting Maleficent at Disney Social Media Moms I was anticipating this film and it’s greatness.

A bit about the film from the studio:

“Maleficent” explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty” and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.    

Maleficent is rated-PG.  I can only speak for my family and my kids, but hope this review will guide you to a decision for your family. In my perspective there isn’t a key age for this film as my 4.5 year old would do just fine.  He in fact was quite sad he was not my plus 1 the evening of the screening.   If you’ve seen the trailers the film comes off very intense and some children might be scared of Maleficent.  There are 3 main scenes you might want to preview before making a decision.  Some of the creatures from the moors appear very spooky in their personified movements, the dragon, and some of the few intense scenes with Maleficent might scare some younger children.  This is where parental guidance rules, you know your kiddo.

Be mindful of the battle scenes and the intention of killing. While the battle scenes are not gory or overtly violent it is very apparent that the king and his army is out to inflict pain and kill Maleficent.

The film is not as dark as one might think from the trailers.  The moors are a beautiful place where fairies and woodland creatures abound.  You might even find yourself falling in love with and siding with an unlikely character.  There are a lot of surprises in this film that delight and bring on emotions of anger and compassion.

I have a budding animator, actor or makeup artist so I feel very confident after viewing Maleficent that my son would do just fine with the imagery.  Perhaps in the daytime and not right before bed.  He finds all the behind the scenes videos and trailers and familiarizes himself with the entire cast and story line before a movie releases.  It is in this that I think he would be prepared for the intense scenes that await.  With the younger crowd take some time watching videos and getting to know the characters.  Preparing your younger kids will make the woodland creatures less of a shock during the film.

With that said we will definitely be discussing the implications of the themes and intentions as a family. This might be a film that waits until home video where we can control forwarding through certain scenes.

Here are a few activities to prep you kids to see the movie, keep them busy while you wait, and hold them over until it releases on film.  To access the activities, click any of the links below to download and print.

Maleficent Scene Builder
Spot the Difference
Maleficent Maze 1
Maleficent Maze 2
Maleficent Coloring Page
Ceremony Coloring Page
Aurora Coloring Page
Fairy Coloring Page

SPOILER: There are some darker scenes and content I feel as a parent some might want to filter from their kids.  When adult Stephan returns to the moors to visit Maleficent there is a dark scene where he struggles with a decision.  Raising a dagger in the air he intends to kill her, but leaves her without her wings.  When she awakes in the morning her wings have been cut off and there is a long and intense scene of her screaming and crying.  King Stephan is quite visibly mad throughout the film and it culminates with him in a scary iron suit fighting Maleficent.   CONNECT:

Like Maleficent on Facebook: facebook.com/DisneyMaleficent
Follow Maleficent on Twitter: @Maleficent
Tweet the hashtag: #Maleficent