Maleficent (2014) ****

I watched Maleficent a few weeks ago in the theater. Funny thing was, since I haven’t been on top of my recently released movies (or movies in general) for the past few months, I had no clue that this movie was even coming out.

It wasn’t until one of my friends came up to me and eagerly told me that she wanted to watch “Mal-i-fi-shent” [how she pronounced it] that I Youtubed the trailer and happily agreed.

Once in the theater, I saw the Disney logo and I smiled. A live action Disney movie. I’m definitely a Disney movie-watching fan. (*hint, Frozen*) I think it’s because all Disney movies touch that innocent childhood self within each of our souls (or at least mine!).

Maleficent was no different.

I don’t really want to give a synopsis of the movie, so if you’re dying to figure out what happened, you can Wikipedia the plot line and then come back…. 🙂

What resonated most with me was how much Maleficent loved and cared for Aurora as she was growing up. She believed that she hated children, and yet she loved Aurora. Aurora’s fascination toward the fairy world I’m sure reminded Maleficent of her happier, more innocent days. Maleficent being betrayed by Stefan is something that I connected deeply with as well. You come to trust someone with all your heart and soul, and yet, this person who you feel safe with decides to hurt you.

Haven’t we all felt that? Regardless of how big or small the wound–that pain is there within each of us. Being tricked by people who we trusted as “friends”. Being hurt by an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend. Being hurt by our parents.

It’s no wonder that Maleficent decided to put a thorny wall around her and curse even the most innocent of souls. The very object that represented her freedom and power was taken away by someone she thought she could trust.

After watching this movie, it made me think even more about the nature of trust, especially if that trust is broken by someone you once loved and cared about deeply. How do you learn to trust others again? How do we tear down those walls around us?

Of course, every Disney movie has a happy ending, as Maleficent regains her wings with the help of Aurora, and Aurora’s dreams of joining the fairy land also comes true.

And everyone lived happily ever after. 🙂