Think you know the story of Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty? Disney is about to rob you of that delusion with their flashy live-action adventure Maleficent. Angelina Jolie stars as the titular fairy with a bad wrap, while pretty and fair Elle Fanning portrays the cursed Princess Aurora. But in the latest promotional banner for this revisionist fairy tale, some curious new creatures are sharing the spotlight.
Of course the main focus on this banner is its larger than life anti-heroine, Maleficent. Rightly, she's at the center with cheekbones to die for and Jolie's name big and bold above. You can spot Fanning off the right, wandering out of some dangerous looking brambles and giving some timid side-eye to Maleficent's right hand crow. But to the left, Disney is teasing a wild array of critters, which we're giving a close-up below:
You might well remember that Maleficent from the 1959 Disney animated movie Sleeping Beauty had a creature-filled entourage who did her bidding. So it'd follow this is the live-action's translation of that motley crew. These might be an array of sprites, trolls, goblins and Ents, but their designs look refreshingly new and distinctive to this fairy tale world. But one creature noticeably absent here is that feisty fire-breathing dragon who is sure to play to in the climax, as dragons tend to do.
It's an eye-catching and smart poster, playing on the already iconic look of Maleficent, and the star power of Jolie while bringing in these design elements that make win over audience members worn out on the barrage of fairy tale flicks of late.
In case you can't get enough of all things Maleficent, check out the trio of trailers below:
Maleficent opens May 30th.
