Maleficent is an evil witch and fairy, she is the main antagonist of Disney's animated classic, Sleeping Beauty. Inspired by the character of the evil fairy from Charles Perrault's original story, Maleficent is by far the most significant, widely recognized interpretation of said character, fulfilling a much larger role in Disney's film than her progenitor had in the original fairy-tale. She was voiced by Eleanor Audley in the film.
History[]
At the christening celebration by King Stefan and Queen Leah, the Three Good Fairies have come to bestow their gifts on the infant Princess Aurora as they’re announced by the castle majordomo, Lord Duke. After Mistress Flora and Mistress Fauna giving their gifts of beauty and song, Mistress Merryweather was about to grant her gift for the infant when Maleficent appears at the christening without invitation. Angry that she had not been invited to the celebration, she places a curse upon the child, stating that on her sixteenth birthday she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Merryweather attempts to undo Maleficent's enchantment, but at best is only able to alter it. She makes it so that Aurora will not die upon pricking her finger, but fall into an eternal sleep that can only be broken by her true love's first kiss. Aurora is then taken by her godmothers into the woods where she is to live secretly as a peasant under the name "Briar Rose" until the threat of Maleficent's curse has passed.
As the years pass, Maleficent sends her minions out across the kingdom to find the missing Aurora. As Aurora's sixteenth birthday draws near, the incompetent henchmen report that they have not been able to find the "baby", at which point Maleficent realises they have been looking for a baby for the last sixteen years and angrily berates them for their stupidity. She then sends her pet raven Diablo out to find Aurora, who succeeds where the goons failed, and discovers Aurora living in the woods with Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. Diablo also witnesses the first meeting between Aurora and Prince Phillip whom Aurora had been betrothed to, though neither knew of this betrothal and Phillip had no idea that the peasant girl he had become smitten with was actually the princess he was destined to marry. After being informed of this, Maleficent plots her next move.
That afternoon, the good fairies have taken Aurora to the castle where she was born to show her her true heritage. When the trio leave Aurora alone briefly, Maleficent takes the opportunity to strike. She appears before Aurora as a ghostly apparition resembling a will-o-the-wisp, hypnotizing the princess and luring her to an empty room at the top of a secret stairway, forcing Flora, Merryweather, and Fauna to chase after her. Inside the room atop the tower, Aurora sees a spinning wheel that Maleficent has conjured. With Aurora under her hypnotic spell, Maleficent tells her to step forth and touch the spindle. As predicted, Aurora pricks her finger upon the spindle, causing the curse of sleep to take effect. As a result, Flora, Merryweather and Fauna are too late to stop Aurora and gasp in horror when they find Maleficent standing over the sleeping Aurora, mocking the good fairies' inability to stop her before suddenly vanishing from the castle, cackling over the fairies’ unsuccessful attempt to protect Aurora.
After Aurora has been dealt with, Maleficent sends her minions to capture Prince Phillip who had arranged to meet Aurora at her cottage. The goons find him there and abduct him, taking him back to Maleficent's castle atop the Forbidden Mountain. Maleficent has Phillip locked away in her dungeon where she reveals to him the truth about the girl he has fallen for and how she is doomed to sleep agelessly for 100 years, stating that she will set Phillip free at that time. Phillip does not remain a prisoner for long as Flora, Fauna and Merryweather find him and free him by melting the lock on his cell door.
The good fairies arm Phillip with the Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue before attempting to escape from Maleficent's castle. However, they are spotted by Diablo who alerts the goons which then intervene, although Phillip and the fairies manage to overcome them. Diablo's cawing also stirs Maleficent from her sleep, but is forever silenced when Merryweather uses her magic to turn the bird into a statue. Enraged by what has been done to her pet, Maleficent ascends to the castle battlement where she spies Phillip and the fairies escaping and attempts to stop them by conjuring bolts of lightning to strike them down. The prince and the fairies evade the lightning, but Maleficent then conjures a forest of thick brambles and thorns around Stefan's kingdom to impede them. With the enchanted Sword of Truth and the fairies assistance, Phillip cuts a path through the thorns on his way to Stefan's castle.
Death[]
In a last-ditch effort to stop Phillip from reaching Aurora, Maleficent confronts the prince herself, appearing in front of him and transforming herself into a terrifying dragon. Phillip charges at the dragon, who drives him backward with her blasts of flame. As Phillip retreats, Maleficent chases him up onto a high cliff and corners him at the ledge. With another powerful flame blast, she blows his shield off. As she is about to burst out laughing and to finish the now defenseless Phillip off, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather magically empower the Sword of Truth, and Phillip immediately throws the sword at the dragon's heart. Maleficent screams in pain and collapses onto the ledge, attempting to devour Phillip for the last time, but he dodges. Her enormous weight, upon impact, causes the ledge to crumble, sending Maleficent tumbling down to her demise below. Phillip looks down to see what remains of Maleficent to find nothing more than her shredded cloak on the ground, plus the Sword of Truth, still embedded in the cloak, turning black.