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deathsmallcaps · 8 months

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So, I was just looking for a Snow White gif set, and I came across quite a few posts expressing displeasure about Rachel Zegler’s flippant attitude to the original Disney film. And while I agree she was being a bit glib, you have to remember, it’s all about playing it up for the camera. Maybe her manager told her to push a love-to-hate-it angle. Who knows. Disney is still trying to work that little bit of feminism that is truly marketable but is ‘safe’ in their standards.

But what irritates me is that those posts immediately delve into the history and animation of the work in the film. As an artist, I totally respect the work and success Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was in 1937. It’s a beautiful piece, to be sure.

And Snow White was kind of modern for the movie’s supposed setting and time period! She has a bob! It’s easily demonstrated and acknowledged by the audience how hard she works, in both the castle and the cottage! She’s a upper class woman who manages to stay chaste despite living with, horror among horrors, seven unmarried men!

But, come on. She was relatively safe, barely pushing the envelope, in 1937. Women were in factories, wearing pants, and were still actively fighting for their rights at the time. All while weathering the Great Depression!

Films like Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman have already done more-feminine-modern takes on the tale. But Zegler isn’t wrong. If the original film’s story, no changes, came out today, it would be disappointing to a lot of feminists. So if you’ve watched the other live action Disney princess films, I’d say don’t knock the Snow White one just yet. It might actually offer something new but nice to more modern feminist audiences.

Just please don’t forget that something can be wonderful in one way and meh in another. The original film was an artistic masterpiece, but wasn’t the be-all end-all of feminism in the 30s. Check out this film, for example.

And hey, this is the webbed site of anxiety. You’ve all probably said things you regret, whether you ‘deserve’ to regret it or not. Don’t forget actors can make mistakes too. They’re human.

#Snow White #trust me I love the already-out there modern live action remake Mirror mirror #but I think you guys are being harsh #Ann Vickers #snow white 2024 #what I liked best about the new little mermaid film was that we still got to see Ariel’s thoughts and passions (without it just being pixie #girl quirky) on land before her wedding to Eric #the expansion of her motivations #and a bunch of other little things that made it different from the original #I wouldn’t have seen it multiple times if it was just a carbon copy #my only complaint was that under the sea should’ve been a chorus song #some animals already sang!#but in any case I loved it #the parts I loved about the other live action Disney princess movies were the things they changed too! (mostly)#I enjoyed Belle actively using her book knowledge to invent #I like Cinderella having that one last conversation with tremaine and still managing to walk away fine and strong #maleficent’s new relationship with aurora was excellent #we got to see jasmine’s internal life richer and better than ever #and for all it’s faults I do appreciate that they tried making Mulan a warrior who didn’t have to hide her womanhood #I do think the Little Mermaid did it best though #so all in all #I think the new Snow White has potential

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thetimelordbatgirl · 3 years

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Another owl house inspired AU on stories by me and my friend, @disneyfan50 , with this one being based disneyfan’s Love From The Stars, but also our AU discussions with Hades!Reese and my series kinda, Power Rangers: The New Samurai.

*Benjamin ‘Ben’ Mercier- also known as The Beast Man due to his cursed form, Ben doesn’t recall who cursed him outside of the fact that its resulted in him being on the emperor’s covens wanted list for other various reasons, one of which was his brief relationship with the emperor’s daughter, and in present, he does his best to survive while selling human junk from the human realm, but when doing this one day, he ends up with a human running through his portal door for her book back and in the process, both of their life’s change from that point onwards.

*Reese Smith- a human from the human realm, Reese has no clue on her parents since she was found abandoned in the woods and was taken in by the foster system but in present, her love for fantasy books has resulted in her constantly being in trouble due to her antics and one trip to the principles office due to her book report results in her being sent to a summer camp meant to straighten her out, but she never shows up as instead, she runs after a beast to get her book back and in the process, ends up in another realm right out of her books.

*Dahlia ‘Lia’- with mysterious origins, Lia was found by Ben while Ben was hiding from the emperor’s coven and the two bonded during hiding to the point when Ben left, Lia left with him and both have stayed by each others sides ever since, both seemingly holding feelings for each other that neither discuss yet, and Lia has no clue yet on how she came to be in that hiding place outside of having mysterious space magic that no one else has.

*Adam- a demon that resides within the door, Adam is the Spelled House in some sense and when not in the door, he can travel throughout the house and sometimes beyond it and despite coming off as creepy and annoying a lot, he does mean well.

*Beasty- Ben’s palisman that he made out of Palisman wood while younger, Beasty resembles a Beast and when not being used by Ben and Reese eventually, Adam often hangs around the house or goes to get human junk for Ben.

*Maleficent ‘Mal’ Tombs- the daughter of the Emperor himself, Mal is a loyal member of the coven and is one of its leaders currently, but in present, has the task to bring in Ben, who she has a past with due to their relationship that some of her memories of its aftermath is gone seemingly, but hopes to bring him in due to her father’s promise to finally cure his curse.

*Silas Parry- a student in Hexside, Silas is the youngest of his family and used to be childhood friends with Aurora until things went wrong while they were with children and in present, Silas struggles to keep up in the abomination track and is often the target for bullying a lot, but after he sneaks a human into school, he ends up being switched to the Construction Track where he belonged, and ends up befriending the human as well.

*Morgan Barron- a student in Hexside, Morgan is often the hardworker of her and her older brother, with her being fully focused on her studies in Potions, but she still has a love for the human realm and ends up helping Silas with sneaking a human in, becoming the twos loyal friend in the process.

*Aurora Garcia- the youngest of the Garcia children, Aurora used to be friends with Silas while children, but they fell out while younger and in present, Aurora is pretty much a mean girl due to her upbringing and a dedicated student in the Abomination Track, but after some encounters with the human, she ends up slowly changing and slowly, gaining a crush on the human.

*Helia and Polaris Garcia- the eldest of the Garcia children, the twins are known for their mischief most of the time and are known to be more laid back then their sister, but are known for being excellent in the Bard Track and are known to be nasty if their sister tells on them.

*Glimmer Wallace- a student in Hexside, Glimmer is known to come from a rich background and often uses said background to get away with bullying other students, including Silas, but is known to work hard as the schools sports star while being in the Oracle track.

*Annie Lock- a student in Hexside, Annie is often Glimmer’s sidekick in bullying fellow students and is also one of the schools sport stars, being in the plant track.

*Hanna and Antonio Garcia- the parents off Helia, Polaris and Aurora, Hanna is known to be very strict with her children, especially Aurora, while Antonio is often focused on his invention that the two in turn sell in their business, Garcia Industries.

*Emperor Hades- the ruler of the Isles, Hades controls the Isles fully, having made the coven system to ensure no one can be more powerful then him, and is known to be very controlling of everyone in his coven, including his daughter and has made it clear his coven has no room for weaknesses, but serving a black hole called Azimerate, he has his sight set on Earth as well as the Isles.

*Remington Kolver- Hades’ right hand man, Kolver is not to be crossed by anyone, as he is loyal to the coven fully and is known to deal with anything in various ways, but has a growing dislike for the Blue Soldier when she starts stealing his jobs.

*The Blue Soldier/Hyacinth- having been raised within the coven by Hades, Hyacinth is loyal fully to the coven and is a trained fighter, but no matter what she does, it doesn’t appear to makes Hades proud of her and therefore, she is often pushed fully to do anything, even if it puhes the side of her she cant control.

*Uma Meredith- a friend of Ben’s from their school days, both lost contact when Uma got pushed away by Ben when she kept trying to help him with his curse, and in present, both reunite when after becoming the new head of the Abomination Coven, Uma starts to lead a rebellion within the coven.

*Fairy Godmother- the principle for Hexside, Fairy Godmother is known to be both strict and caring for her students and is in the Oracle Coven, only allowing the human into the school to see how it’ll go.

#megan's fanfiction #dani's fanfiction #the spelled house #OCs #alternate universes #aka basically what if ben and lia from light house swapped and some stuff was different

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orangetail-works · 4 years

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A Phoenix and a Raven: Alphabet

Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to Disney, I am just playing around with them for a few.

A/N: I did a fiction similar to this with another couple from OUAT and it was pretty fun, though somewhat frustrating. Twenty-six 100-word snippets of Diaval and Maleficent- little bits a pieces of their partnership and possible future. Not all of them turned out the way I wanted it to, but I did enjoy it for the most part. I didn't have a variable “x” word, so I found one that ended in x and went from there. Happy reading.

Alphabet

Attraction

Being a young raven searching for a mate in his parent's territory never led anywhere. He did as all ravens must: joined a small unkindness and continued his hunt. Aerial tricks perfected and beautiful feathers preened, he was ready to find her. His problem? No attraction was held for the she-ravens that showed interest. After leaving his unkindness, he was caught in a farmer's net. A wisp of magic turned him human and he looked his savior in her wild eyes. Something stuttered in his chest. Something that made him wish she was a raven who felt attraction for him.

Branch

When Maleficent became queen of the Moors, her throne grew a branch so that he was in reach should she want to smooth a hand over his feathers. A Rowen tree branch stayed empty for him when he came back from spying. He thought it strange that there was no special branch at the nest. Most nights he was in the nest, just above her right shoulder. She reached for him during nights she was lost to her night terrors and he calmed her with gentle clicks. Those nights he was content to be without a branch to perch on.

Confusion

Maleficent once had all the confidence in the world. Confidence in her curse, her revenge and that her decisions would protect the Moors. Until she began to listen to her raven. He questioned her decisions, made her think longer before she acted and always had a pesky way of not fearing her. He confused her greatly. From the way that he smirked at her attempts of intimidation to the way he would fly off to tend to the Beastie. All of this should enrage her, but she couldn't help but feel confused at the warmth that spread in her chest.

Dismissal

After Stefan fell and Aurora was safe in the Moors for the night, Maleficent found her raven on his perch by the throne. She didn't sit on the throne, but at the foot of it. He jumped down and she turned him into a man to sit next to her.

“You are free,” she whispered.

Silence passed between them for the first time that she could remember.

“You're dismissing me?”

“Your vow is fulfilled.”

He turned to her and looked into her eyes, “And if I choose to stay?”

“Then stay.”

“For whatever you need.”

Equal

Many in the Moors and in the Perceforest Kingdom believed Diaval to be nothing but Maleficent's servant. A common raven that was gifted the forms of many other beasts at the whim of his mistress. Truthfully, he had started out as such, but now his voice carried weight with both his mistress and the young queen that now sat on both thrones. He brought an unobstructed prospective and insight untouched by human greed or fey fear. He was the one who calmed their fears and heard their views before any council. In more than one way he was always equal.

Family

It was hard for him to name. His raven side wanted to call them an unkindness, a familiar group in want of survival. His human side didn't feel that was right. They were more than a group in search of the same things. Maleficent, Aurora and he were something greater.

“Mistress, what are we?” Diaval asked as the three of them took a rest at the one of the Moors many lakes.

“What a silly question,” Aurora giggled before Maleficent answered and looked at the both of them, “We're a family.”

He knew then nothing described them better.

Gift

“What's this?” Maleficent asked from her nest, a pendant in her hand.

“I found that,” Diaval answered, “Thought it was particularly shiny.”

“It is,” she turned the polished gem in her hand, “Where did you find it?”

“Perceforest after checking on Aurora,” he smirked as he saw her eyes shine at the dark green color.

“Why would you give me a gift?”

Diaval thought it obvious, “You need to learn more about ravens.”

Her head tilted in question.

He answered with a kiss to her cheek before she turned him back into his feathered self.

Humor

Diaval had many skills and talents, even when he was in his raven form. He was an excellent flier, his smaller wings kept up with her in the air easily- even with his added flips and twirls around her. Outside of her god-daughter, he was the only one able to comfort her with a rub of his feathered head against one of her cheeks. But the true blessing that Maleficent thanked the gods for each day was the humor that he brought to her life. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't know what it felt like to smile again.

Imagine

There were nights where he would sit and wonder about things. He did so mostly as a man as humans often thought on more things than ravens. He thought on his fledgling and her blossoming relationship with the young Prince Phillip. He imagined her future and how they would possibly bond to one another one day. He imagined the little ones that would follow after- little blonde headed prince or princesses. He then imagined other little ones with black wings and silky chestnut hair. He shook his head as his eyes landed on his mistress. Imagining things could be dangerous.

Jealous

Human faces became familiar in the Moors as some made supervised trips for trade with the fair folk. One lord came to see over his servants and became acquainted with Maleficent. Diaval noticed the stories they shared with one another and it felt like he wasn't there. At the end of a visit, Diaval was particularly moody.

“Don't be jealous,” Maleficent stated.

“Of what?”

“He has never given me anything shiny or shown off his flying abilities for me to accept,” she gave his cheek a kiss as his eyes widened, “Unlike a handsome raven I know.”

Kneel

Even when he considered himself a servant, he never had to kneel to Maleficent. Other fair folk did as she passed, but he was never required. He bowed to her when he gave his vow and she never asked for anything more. He paced at the base of the Rowen tree and fought with conflicting thoughts. At the sound of her wings he turned to face her. She landed and raised her brows at his presence.

He instantly knelt before her, “I'm not a fey, I'm not even a man... but I love you. With every fiber of my being.”

Lover

The thought of having a lover never came to mind after Stefan's betrayal. Maleficent promised herself that she would never trust another that deeply. Yet, here she was, wrapped in Diaval's arms, her head on his chest, ear pressed against him to hear his heart beating. Her wings surrounded them both and sheltered them in their after glow of love making. Her fingertips floated over his scars as her hand traveled up to run through his hair and pull herself closer.

His lips touched the top of her head in a soft kiss and she whispered, “I love you, too.”

Mystery

It baffled his mind. Maleficent chose him as her mate despite the many others that would have died for the honor. He asked her once as they laid together in their nest, “You need to help me with this mystery. Why me?”

She leaned over him, her chin came to rest on his chest to level her eyes with his, “Answer me this: Why not the one who never failed me? Why not the one who calmed my many fears? Why not the one who chose to love me despite my sins?”

Instantly, the mystery was solved with her kiss.

Nest

The day had been long with the disputes between the new Dark Fey and how they were settling into the Moors. All Maleficent wanted was to curl in her nest with Diaval and sleep into the late morning of the next day. She landed at their nest on the cliff side and her brows furrowed at the sight. Her mate draped over the side of the nest, his hand held one of the many trinkets that he had given her over the years. Their nest was covered in the little mementos. She never saw anything more beautiful.

“Silly raven.”

Offspring

Maleficent couldn't believe how small Aurora's daughter was. She held the bundle gently and hesitantly as she didn't want to harm the tiny babe. Diaval came to her side and looked down at the babe in patience for his turn. Maleficent shifted the baby and handed her to Diaval as she went to tend to Aurora. He eagerly tucked the babe into his arm. Maleficent and Aurora both watched as he rocked the child with practiced ease. Then Maleficent couldn't help but wonder what he would look like holding a child with darker colored hair and two tiny black wings.

Partner

Diaval and Maleficent flew through the Moors in search of some special blooms to bring with them to Princess Rose's christening. They landed in a glen and a forest Dark Fey came from the side with flowers already in hand.

“Those are perfect!” Diaval shifted human and took the flowers.

“She didn't need her servant to take flowers.”

“Partner,” Diaval corrected.

“Mate, love,” Maleficent further corrected, “Those flowers are perfect.”

She then flew off and Diaval flashed a smirk to the stunned fey before he was back a raven and in the air after his partner.

Quest

Diaval never assumed to call himself a hero or much of an adventurer. He loved his peace and quiet in the side of the cliff, wrapped around his mate in their glorious decorated nest. But he loved his mate even more. So when she began to ask for her favorite berries in the early morning hours before the sun crested the hills, he didn't question it. He shifted, found the berries and came back home. There would be another quest waiting for him and he accepted it as an honored duty. If she wanted mulberries, who was he to argue?

Real

As a young raven, he never would have thought that this would be his reality. He didn't shift into his feathers too often as before, but she was worth every moment that he was without his wings.

“What if I told you that things were changing?” she asked. He looked down at her and waited for her to continue. She took one of his hands and laid it over her stomach. His mind raced over what she really meant and what she was telling him.

“Is- is this real?” he smiled.

“Very,” she smiled back, “Very real.”

Stake

Months flew by in quick succession as Maleficent's stomach grew with the life in her. They moved down from the cliff to reside in the Rowen tree nest until she gave birth. There was too much at stake for her to test fate. Aurora stopped by with Rose to hear news of her sibling. The still young queen laid her hands on her mother's growing stomach and smiled at the kicks from the life inside. Diaval would lay down his life for his family. Any who dared to try to cause harm would be putting their own lives at stake.

Twilight

It was after the sun set that Maleficent noticed something was different. With a grip at Diaval's arm and a look of subtle fear in her eyes, he knew it too. With a yell down from the Rowen tree a Dark Fey midwife flew to the tree and helped to bring Maleficent down for the birthing. Diaval didn't leave her side, despite the threats of slow death by magic from his mate during the hard portions of labor. Then in the twilight of the evening their daughter was born, her cry echoed over the Moors.

“Hello, Selene. Welcome home.”

Understand

Maleficent cradled her daughter in her arms as she walked around one of the lakes of the Moors. She watched as Diaval worked with some of the mushroom fairies with their harvests on the other bank. He had taken on more responsibilities after Selene was born. He wanted Maleficent to rest and able to bond with their daughter without the stress of Moor business. He would bond with Selene in the evening and every time he had a free moment. The time he gave her by sacrificing his own showed her that he understood her better than anyone ever would.

Veil

“I don't understand why we need the veil,” Maleficent said as she looked at the cradle where her daughter laid in the plush blankets. The babe blinked up with wide, hazel eyes as her tiny black wings fluttered at her back against the blankets.

“It is extra protection should the sun cut through the windows,” Aurora explained and balanced Rose on her hip, “Anything to protect my sweet, little sister.”

“She will be beyond spoiled between you and your father.”

Diaval walked into the room to look at the cradle and tilted his head, “Why the veil?”

Wind

The early morning found Maleficent in the clouds, the wind cutting through her hair as the recently risen sun warmed her skin. Her feathers stretched to ride the wind current and she heard the small gurgles under her chin. She pulled the wrap down from her daughter's face so she too could feel the wind on her face. Still much too young, her wings too underdeveloped to even try flying under her own power, this would have to do. Diaval shot through the clouds under them and cawed as he circled the two of them as they rode the wind.

Unorthodox

The whole situation was irregular. The last descendant of the mighty phoenix was mated to a raven and had offspring who was now trying to teeth on every fair folk who came too close to see her. Diaval had to wrestle a few mushroom and hedgehog fairies from the grip of the baby even if she couldn't even sit up on her own yet.

“I bet she gets this from you,” he chuckled at Maleficent and plucked a hat from his daughter's grip, “Sorry, miss.”

“She got her wings from you, that's all I could have asked for.”

Youth

Diaval picked up Selene from her spot between him and Maleficent at her first cry. He hushed her and pulled her to his chest as he looked over his shoulder to see that Maleficent was asleep.

He got to his feet and wrapped her tight in a blanket. He rocked her as they paced the side of the nest. Slowly the crying subsided and he moved them back to the nest.

“You don't need to take her every time.”

“You get her in the day, it's my time with her,” he yawned, “Energy is wasted on the young.”

Zero

Maleficent sat with Aurora at the same lake that they had frequented when she was still just a child. Rose ran as fast as her legs could carry her with Selene toddling after her, black wings flapping haplessly behind her. Both Diaval and Phillip ran after their children through the shallow waters. Aurora laughed lightly and looked at her mother as Maleficent watched content.

“So, tell me. Do you have any regrets?” Aurora asked and looked back at the children and their fathers, “Now knowing this is how it all worked out?”

Maleficent smiled at Diaval and Selene, “Zero.”

#maleval #fanfiction #maleval fanfiction #one-shot

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letterboxd · 5 years

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Divas.

“You have to know what you’re willing to fight for or die for.” Angelina Jolie goes head-to-head with Michelle Pfeiffer in the Maleficent sequel, Mistress of Evil. The megastars talk to Letterboxd about their new Disney blockbuster, their favorite villains, and learning to let go of your children.

We haven’t done specific data on this, but it’s no secret that, from Tinkerbell and Wendy to Mother Gothel and Rapunzel, Disney in particular excels at pitting women against each other and messing with concepts of motherhood. Times change, however, and in 2014, with Angelina Jolie in the title role, the studio’s live-action blockbuster Maleficent revisited the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, taking a refreshing spin on the villain from Disney’s 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty.

It worked: Maleficent became Jolie’s highest-grossing film, and holds a particular kind of appeal for the Letterboxd members who love it. For Rookie Bear, it is “…a journey from girlhood to motherhood and maturity, and in many respects, is exactly the film I would have liked Sleeping Beauty to be.” Aly C agrees: “I love that so many distinctly feminine themes are layered into this story, from non-traditional motherhood to recovering from sexual assault. It’s so smart; [writer] Linda Woolverton is a genius, and that must be part of why Angelina was so enthusiastically behind this project (besides looking absolutely iconic). I hope the sequel stays on this same path.”

Pedro Paixão is a little more succinct: “I have a weakness for bad bitches in leather.” He’s gonna love the follow-up, which sees dark fairy Maleficent (Jolie) drawn out of the moors, a verdant land in which fantasy creatures flourish, by the impending nuptials between surrogate daughter Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty herself, played by Elle Fanning) and her beloved Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson, replacing the original’s Brenton Thwaites).

But this is Disney. With Maleficent and Aurora happy in their non-traditional family unit, the sequel needs a new bad bitch. Cue Michelle Pfeiffer, the ideal grande dame to go head-to-head with Jolie in lavish new sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

Pfeiffer plays Aurora’s mother-in-law to be, Queen Ingrith; outwardly welcoming of Maleficent, but secretly plotting against her, setting the stage for an epic showdown in which expensive special effects are entirely outshone by two of Hollywood’s most legendary actors throwing down. It’s misunderstood-villain versus actual-villain, and the star power on display is truly something to behold.

Jolie and Pfeiffer recently joined press in Beverly Hills to talk about the film, and we took the opportunity to ask them for any iconic movie villain performances that they may have taken inspiration from.

Angelina Jolie immediately named the performance given by her co-star in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns: “I like Michelle as Catwoman,” she told us.

Pfeiffer brought up a different Batman film, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, in her response: “I think the first thing that came to mind was Heath Ledger as the Joker. I didn’t take that as inspiration, but that’s my favorite villain.”

Read on for highlights from the rest of the conversation.

On being associated with the character of Maleficent: Angelina Jolie: The strange thing as an actor, you’re kind of always figuring out who you are, how people see you. Now with social media, everybody has an opinion. As an actor, it’s strange, you put yourself forward [for a role] and somebody says: “Oh, that’s very you.” And you think: ‘Really, is it?’ When I got a call and they said: “We thought you’re the only person who could play Maleficent. It was so obvious.” I was like: “What was so obvious?” I’m never quite sure how I’m supposed to take that.

And yet, I love her. So maybe I just need to fully embrace it at this time in my life. Maybe when I first did it I thought I needed to find the other aspects of her; she’s a bit wild and full-on and a bit much. Now I have different things in my life and I’m just so happy to feel strong again and have some fun. I adore being her.

On whether or not she was channeling screen legend Bette Davis in her performance: AJ: When I was little, I saw the animated film. Clearly she was drawn with that inspiration, and the original voice, and the original way she was, and I was so drawn to it. All of those women. There’s so much to learn from them. Any comparison I’m very grateful for.

On how the film plays with notions of good and evil: Michelle Pfeiffer: It’s a very unusual fairy tale, which I also loved about the first film, it was so surprising. What I loved is that it played in this grey area and it talked about good-versus-evil, and how all of us have a little bit of everything in us. I think in terms of strength, and how that manifests itself, it’s different in everyone. One of the things we loved about Aurora is that in many ways she is ultimately the strongest and wisest of all of us. My character is really brilliant and diabolical, but I wouldn’t consider her terribly wise.

I mean, everybody has vulnerability, and I think, [Queen Ingrith is] damaged. Nobody behaves that way unless they’re incredibly damaged on some level. She just doesn’t wear it on her sleeve, I guess. And it some ways, what she resorts to is really, truly out of a very deep fear. On the central themes of the film: AJ: It is about family. Aurora and Maleficent were brought together and they became a family and they weren’t really expecting it. Maleficent was harmed in her life and she lost herself and lost her ability to, I think, be soft and feel love. Being a mother brought out something in me that really transformed me. But we’re different creatures in the film. There are metaphors in the film, not to be heavy about it, but always I think a good film for young people has these messages, and I think there’s real questions in the film: [Aurora and Maleficent] get pulled apart, people tell us, because we’re not the same. “Because you’re not exactly like her, you’re not gonna love her.” That certainly strikes a chord with me. I think Maleficent does wonder if she’s good enough to be a mother.

Then there’s a real push to say “this is not how it should be, and this is not how to live”. Diversity makes us stronger. There must be a better way forward, and we have to come together. We do that in the film with the humans and the creatures and moor-folk coming together. We do that as a family, we come together and we fight against this separation. We unite and we say “this is the world we choose to live in”. I think that that is a really important message.

On Aurora and Maleficent’s relationship: AJ: I see her exactly as she is, and I don’t want her to be any different than she is. And she sees me as I am, and she accepts me as I am. It is to say to everybody: “Be yourself, be your true self. You don’t live forever.” Say to children: “No matter how people see you and how they say you should be, you’ll suffocate. Be your true nature, whatever that may be, and you’ll find acceptance, because you have to.”

On the film’s elaborate dinner scene, when Maleficent and Ingrith first encounter each other: MP: Tension-wise, nobody wanted to be the one to wreck the take, because it was so long. Every angle, every shot was a master. The tension is really good, you’re kind of just being there for each other.

AJ: I was just happy we were sitting. I felt like I was having dinner with friends for a week. I thought it was great. On the challenge of performing inside such gargantuan costumes: AJ: You get so supported in these roles with the magic, everybody working towards this idea of [bringing together] costumes, visual effects and make-up to help bring you into a creature. It’s a big team. Some of my costumes were half there, and we had to be flying with rigs and things. The trick with Maleficent sometimes is that I need to look stronger on the ground, but then I have to float when I’m up in the air.

On what the film has to say about self-sacrifice: AJ: When you talk about love, we spoke about knowing your true self, but really I think the core of is: we’re not here just to exist. You have to know what you stand for. You have to know what you’re willing to fight for or die for. If you live that way, then whatever pain comes with it and whatever sacrifice comes with it, you embrace it and it actually fills you with purpose. That’s hopefully represented in the film.

On whether or not she was trying to top her previous villain performances: MP: I didn’t actually look at it that way. I certainly enjoyed playing this, I was really delighted and surprised when I read the script. I was excited just by the notion of working with [Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning].

You approach them all differently. I had a lot of fun doing this. I felt like I had a lot of freedom to try and bring some other colors, you know, try to play the humanity. It may not appear at first blush that Ingrith is willing to sacrifice anything, but she’s willing obviously to sacrifice her son. I think that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love him. (Laughs.) It’s complicated.

On relating to Maleficent having to let go of Aurora, given that she just sent her oldest son off to college: AJ: To be very honest, Maddox was so ready and he’s doing so well. He spent these days with me as I thought I was preparing him to go. You work so hard as a mother, you think: ‘I’m really helping him.’ And then at the airport, he could’ve left but he stayed with me a bit longer, I kept thinking: ‘He wants to be with me a little longer.’ And then at some point he looked at me and said: “Are you okay?” and I said “Yeah I’m fine” and I realized the entire week was all for me. He was just making sure I was okay. And he gave me a really big hug because he knew that I needed it, and I knew that he was okay because he was the kind of man who knew what I needed and he gave it to me in a loving way. So I left feeling really proud. I did cry a few times.

There’s a part of this movie where I have to let [Aurora] go. It wasn’t in the script, but I didn’t quite let her go. And Diaval (Sam Riley) has to come in and say: “Let her go.” And that got me every time. Because I would think of… all of the kids. That moment of having to let them go. But it’s also exciting.