If you’ve ever found yourself scrolling through Disney+ and paused on that striking image of Angelina Jolie with those massive, razor-sharp cheekbones and curving horns, you might have asked a seemingly simple question. Is Maleficent a Disney movie? The short answer? Absolutely. It’s as Disney as Mickey Mouse or a $15 churro at Magic Kingdom. But honestly, the longer answer is way more interesting because this movie basically flipped the script on how Disney handles its classic villains. It’s not just "a Disney movie"—it's the film that changed the "Disney Villain" brand forever.
The Real Story: Is Maleficent a Disney Movie?
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. Maleficent, released in 2014, was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It wasn't some outside studio that Disney later bought (like how they acquired Marvel or Star Wars). This was an in-house project from the jump.
It was directed by Robert Stromberg, who actually came from a production design background—he worked on Avatar and Alice in Wonderland—which is why the movie looks so stinking good. The screenplay was written by Linda Woolverton. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because she’s a Disney legend. She wrote the screenplay for the 1991 Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.
So, yeah. Disney DNA is everywhere here.
Why the confusion?
Sometimes people get confused because Maleficent feels... different. It’s darker. It’s moody. It’s a "revisionist" history. Unlike the 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty, where Maleficent is just pure, unadulterated evil for the sake of being evil, the 2014 live-action movie gives her a soul. It tells us why she became the "Mistress of All Evil."
Basically, Disney decided to take their most iconic baddie and turn her into a tragic hero.
The Connection to Sleeping Beauty
You can't talk about Maleficent without talking about the 1959 Sleeping Beauty. That’s where the character was born. Marc Davis, one of Disney's "Nine Old Men" (their legendary core group of animators), designed her to be elegant and terrifying.
In the original movie, she’s a "wicked fairy" who doesn’t get invited to a baby’s christening and decides, "Hey, I’m going to curse this child to die." Pretty extreme, right?
The 2014 movie Maleficent takes that exact scene—the green fire, the staff, the dramatic entrance—and reimagines it. But this time, we see the betrayal that led to it. We see her wings getting stolen. We see her relationship with a young King Stefan. It’s a total 180-degree turn from the cartoon.
Is it a Remake or a Sequel?
Actually, it’s neither and both.
- It’s a Reimagining: It covers the same timeline as Sleeping Beauty but from Maleficent’s perspective.
- It’s a Franchise: Because the first one made a ridiculous amount of money—over $758 million worldwide—Disney made a sequel called Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in 2019.
- The Third One: As of right now, there’s been a lot of talk about a third movie being in the works.
What Really Happened With the Casting
Can we talk about Angelina Jolie for a second? She didn't just play the role; she was an executive producer. She basically is the reason this movie exists in its current form. She famously said that Maleficent was her favorite character as a kid because she was "so elegant and so cruel."
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Fun fact: Her daughter, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, actually played the toddler version of Princess Aurora (the "Little Beastie") in the movie. Why? Because every other kid who auditioned was absolutely terrified of Angelina in her costume. Vivienne was the only child who wouldn't cry when she saw those horns.
How Maleficent Fits Into the Disney Universe
Since the movie was such a hit, Maleficent (the Jolie version) has been integrated into the parks and the brand in a huge way.
- Disney Parks: You’ll see the dragon version of her in the Festival of Fantasy parade at Walt Disney World. It actually breathes real fire.
- Merchandise: Walk into any Disney Store (or what's left of them) and you'll see two versions of her: the 1959 cartoon version and the 2014 "Cheekbone" version.
- Video Games: She’s a major player in the Kingdom Hearts series and has her own mobile games like Maleficent Free Fall.
Why Most People Get It Wrong
The biggest misconception is that Maleficent is just a live-action version of Sleeping Beauty. It’s not. If you go in expecting a scene-for-scene remake like the live-action Beauty and the Beast or Cinderella, you’re going to be very surprised.
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The movie changes the "True Love's Kiss" trope entirely. It focuses on maternal love rather than romantic love. It makes the "Prince" almost irrelevant to the climax. It’s a very modern Disney movie wrapped in a very old fairy tale.
What to Do Next
If you’re planning a Disney movie marathon, here is how you should actually watch these to get the full "Maleficent" experience:
- Watch the 1959 Sleeping Beauty first. You need to see the "pure evil" version to appreciate the subversion later.
- Stream Maleficent (2014) on Disney+. Look for the details in the Moors—the CGI was groundbreaking at the time and won a lot of praise.
- Follow up with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019). This expands the lore of where Maleficent actually comes from (her species, the Dark Fey).
- Check out Descendants. If you have kids (or just love catchy songs), Disney also has a TV movie franchise where Maleficent has a daughter named Mal. It’s a completely different "multiverse" version of the character, but it shows just how much Disney leans into this IP.
By the time you're done, you'll see that Maleficent isn't just a Disney movie—she's arguably the most important character in the modern Disney catalog. No longer just a villain, she paved the way for "misunderstood" characters like Cruella and even Elsa from Frozen.
If you want to dive deeper into the production of the film, look up the "Making of Maleficent" featurettes on Disney+. The way they applied those prosthetic cheekbones to Angelina Jolie every morning is a masterclass in movie makeup.