With Angelina Jolie As Maleficent, Disney Can Rule 2014 [Trailer]
It seems Angelina Jolie's icy exterior has transferred pretty well to the screen, with the Hollywood actress starring as the cold-hearted Queen in the first trailer for Disney's Maleficent. Billed as the "untold story" of the iconic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, Maleficent - due out in May 2014 after being brought forward by Disney - also stars Elle Fanning as the young princess Aurora as well as Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.
The plot synopsis from Disney reads: "A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal-an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone.
"Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading king's successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom-and perhaps to Maleficent's true happiness as well."
With an budget estimated $200 million, filming began on June 18, 2012 in London. Seven-time Academy Award winner Rick Baker designed the special makeup effects for the film.
Disney is pretty set on Maleficent being its blockbuster movie for 2014. The studio originally sounded out Tim Burton to direct the project, though he reportedly left to focus on other upcoming projects. Eventually, Robert Stromberg - the two time Oscar winning production designer for Avatar and Alice in Wonderland - was brought on board to direct, meaning even if Maleficent's really really bad, it's going to look really really good.
Will Angelina Jolie be able to pull in the big audience?
Lord knows that Disney needs a big hitter next year, given the disaster that was The Lone Ranger which grossed $260 million worldwide against an estimated $220 million production budget plus an additional $150 million marketing budget.
Speaking at the Disney D23 Expo 2013, Jolie said: "We felt it was very important to get it right and we think we did. The nice thing about joining the Disney family is that we've all been fans since we've been kids...and as a mother there is something very nice knowing you can take your kids to a Disney film and you know it's got something good for them in it...it's not going to hurt them.
"When I got the chance to play her I was very excited but very nervous."
Maleficent is set for release on May 30, 2014. No doubt the DVD and Blu-Ray will be out for Christmas. Kerching.