Disney Maleficent Mistress of Evil

Christian Movie Review for Parents

Once upon a time, there was good and evil. You knew the good and you knew the evil. But the Disney kingdom changed all that. And like it or hate it, this new narrative is here to stay. However, there is something to be said for a new twist to the endings of our favorite fairy tales. In fact, for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, the retelling gives this Christian Mom reviewer plenty of teachable moments that are missing from the original storyline. So without further ado, I present to you my Maleficent Christian Movie Review!

CHRISTIAN MOVIE REVIEW: SYNOPSIS

At the end of the first live-action remake from 2014, we find Aurora and “her fairy godmother” living happily ever after. This sequel picks up five years later.

Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), who once cursed the princess, is the protector of the Moors. Aurora (Elle Fanning) is Queen of the Moors. She has given the castle of her birth parents over to the people. When Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson) finally proposes, it is a magical moment. Phillip’s parents invite Aurora and Maleficent to dinner. Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer) appears to be the perfect host, but dinner does not go as planned. Will Phillip and Aurora have their magical wedding or will the rivalry between Maleficent and Queen Ingrith separate the two forever? The only certainty is that Aurora’s aunties (Fairies) are sure to bicker.

Maleficent Christian Movie Review:

THE GOOD:

When I tell you that the imagery is beyond anything that I have encountered, I am telling the truth. While I have this filed under the good, I actually had to look away at the beginning of the film because I had a touch of motion sickness, and we did not see this movie in 3D.

Additionally, Maleficent was the character that I loved to hate. I absolutely loved the character of the raven, Diaval, who played Sam Riley. The entire movie was entertaining and much better than I had anticipated. I went into the movie thinking I would hate it. I did not!

 

THE BAD:

This movie is rated PG and as Jack-Jack puts it, “It would be scary for little kids.” The evil is scary. At one point, there is a huge dragonlike creature that can be frightening for children. There is also a gigantic black bear-like creature that appears. 

If your child is sensitive to fighting, I compare the fight scenes to the fighting in the Chronicles of Narnia. In fact, I leaned to my son after the movie and made that comment. When my husband and I were talking, he told me the same exact thing. While there is very little bloodshed, Aurora does have blood on her face during the battle. Maleficent is hit by a “bullet” and is later shown with bloody bandages.

During the battle scenes, you see dead and wounded on the ground. There is also killing of another kind – the fairies “disappear” when touched with iron dust. This is sad in so many ways. This is meant to be a destruction of an entire species.

To get an idea of the type of violence, the following clip shows some of the “evil” within the film.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

In every movie, book, and situation one encounters in life, there are lessons to be learned. In traditional fairytales, the overarching good versus evil is something we all believe when we are growing up.

However, the real facts are as follows:

• There is a Good and Holy God
• Satan is a powerful force of Evil
• There is One Savior
• We have free-will and the ability to choose the path we wish to take

But my Maleficent Christian movie review would not be complete without giving you some ideas for teachable moments with your children. You see, as a mom and Christian movie reviewer, I have found that telling children that humans are good or evil has driven us to the depths of near destruction. We create heroes or villains out of our neighbors, friends, and those with the opposite viewpoint. Democrats, Republicans, black, white, and historical figures all become allies or enemies. 

In doing this, we have created division where there should not be. We fail to recognize that sin does not have to define the person. By teaching our children that each of us has the ability to do good or evil with each one of our decisions, we do not label anyone as all good or all evil. And in doing that we allow ourselves and others to be redeemable.

Another thing we have erroneously taught our children is that people can be a savior. And we are always looking for a human savior, but our Savior can only be found in Jesus Christ.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• We all have the potential to use our talents for good or evil
• We have the ability to choose which side we are fighting for
• Our story is not yet written. If you are still walking and breathing, you have the ability to change the outcome.
• We are often afraid of the things we can’t understand
• Forgiveness and redemption should always be what we are striving for
• Even the most hardened soul can be saved
• Change starts with one person
• Sometimes we misjudged people because of the story we have been told

In fact, Jolie has said, “I always wanted to come back because I loved doing the first one. I loved what it said about people and how they’re not always what you think they are and not always what you assume.” The truth in that statement goes back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent. When you know the outcome of the story, it is easy to see the villain, but when you are in the midst of the situation, seeing good and evil becomes much harder. Furthermore, it is even more difficult to see the good guys from the bad guys when you have been fed a false narrative.

However, my assurance rests in the hope that as a Christian, not all stories have a twisted outcome.

My Recommendation:

I fully understand that you come here for my recommendation. As a parent, you want to know if this movie is suitable for your children. I had not planned to see Maleficent at the movie theater. This was one movie I was sure my son would not want to see, and I would just wait for it to come out on DVD later.

I was more than pleasantly surprised. First, Jack-Jack asked to see it, Then, he watched the first Maleficent several times in the last few weeks. Finally, he told me that if there were any scary parts, he would just close his eyes and look away. One time during the battle scenes, he did just that.

Overall, the movie is beautiful. It is a story of love, sacrifice, unity and all the opposites that go with that (Hate, selfishness, division, and deceit). There are deep lessons about not judging a person by their outer appearance, not believing all the stories you hear about a person, and not holding a person in their sin/evilness. Aurora’s ability to forgive and see the good in a person is truly a character quality to emulate. In fact, it is Aurora’s ability to call out the goodness in Maleficent that makes Maleficent do even more good.

I would absolutely go see this movie. My age recommendation is 10 and up, but if your child cannot handle fighting or scary monsters, I would wait to see this movie at home. My Maleficent Christian Movie Review is done with the assumption you will see the movie in the theater which makes the evil larger than life! If you see this movie, make sure to talk to your children about how we have the potential to look beyond what a person looks like and see the good within, and how we have the ability to encourage others to bring out their greatness!