Angelina Jolie has decided to shed some light on her character in the upcoming Disney picture Maleficent, as the promotional campaign for the film begins to ramp up. The mouse house released a new poster, teaser trailer and set photos today, while Jolie spoke about her character’s lack of wings and why she can’t fly.
“You’re almost like a puppet with all these people moving [beneath you],” Jolie said. “When you go to the left or the right all of you have to move together. It’s a big dance with a lot of people.”
She also spoke about the challenge of creating sympathy for such an inherently evil character, praising scribe Linda Woolverton for crafting a script that imbues a deeper understanding for a villainous creation. As a writer for The Lion King, Beauty And The Beast, and Alice In Wonderland, Woolverton has a great deal of experience lending sympathetic touches to characters who would otherwise be unlovable.
“She has a darkness. And how do you make a film about someone who curses a baby and make them relatable? It’s like the worst thing you could possibly do! But I think the script that Linda [Woolverton(‘The Lion King’)] wrote, has quite a deep understanding.
The exercise wasn’t how can we have fun with a villain? It was: what turns people evil and vile and aggressive and cruel. What could have possibly happened to her that would get her to that moment in the christening? She wasn’t invited, so she’s pissed off?”
I’ve always felt that Jolie had the requisite depth and darkness to play a complicated antihero, and am quite excited to see her in the titular role. It will also be interesting to see how “Disney-fied” the story ends up being. We already know that the studio booted director Mark Romanek when he tried to make the film too dark, so let’s hope that Jolie is right and that Woolverton’s script doesn’t surgarcoat things too much.
Maleficent opens on May 30th. Check out the new promo material below and let us know what you think in the comments.
