Story
Aurora (Elle Fanning) is now Queen of the Moors and all its fairy folk or ‘fae’. She accepts a marriage proposal from the kind-hearted Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson), who has fallen hopelessly in love with her. King John (Robert Lindsay) is delighted and hopes his son’s marriage will secure peace with the fae and unite the kingdoms. His wife, Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer), however, is secretly amassing weapons of war because she hopes to annihilate the fairy kingdom once and for all.
Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), Aurora’s godmother, also opposes the match, but she agrees to meet the King and Queen for Aurora’s sake. When the meeting ends in disaster, Maleficent is blamed for a curse on the King. She flies away and is shot down by an iron bullet meant to kill her. She’s rescued from a watery grave by Conall (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a creature much like herself.
Conall takes Maleficent home with him to the fae’s last sanctuary, where she learns that she is indeed different but also that she isn’t alone. Maleficent is, in fact, the last blood descendant of a phoenix-like creature whose magic runs in her veins and gives her unimaginable power. Conall hopes for peace with humankind, but Borra (Ed Skrein), a warrior fae, wants to fight humans and use Maleficent’s powers to win freedom for the fae, no matter what the cost. When Conall is killed in an ambush, the fae prepare for war.
Meanwhile, Queen Ingrith uses Aurora and Phillip’s marriage as a front to secretly exterminate the fae. In the ensuing battle, it looks as though the fae don’t stand a chance against Queen Ingrith’s forces. But the unusual and mutual love between Maleficent and Aurora might be the power that saves them all.
Themes
War; prejudice against those who look different; violence to solve conflict; disrespect for natur; spreading lies until they are believed
Violence
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil has some violence. For example:
- Numerous battle scenes between humans and fae result in mass casualties.
- Humans repeatedly kill fae with iron bullets and arrows. Maleficent is shot twice on two occasions and dies before magically being reincarnated.
- Queen Ingrith throws Aurora off the castle roof after Maleficent transforms into a phoenix-like creature. Aurora is saved at the last moment by Maleficent.
- Queen Ingrith stabs her husband with a spindle in an effort to frame Maleficent.
- Humans are captured in the fae forest. Queen Ingrith kidnaps fae and holds them captive for experiments.
- Aurora is slightly injured after trying to escape imprisonment by Queen Ingrith.
- As the fae prepare for war, they say they will kill King John and Queen Ingrith as well as the young prince.
- Maleficent’s magic blasts people against the walls.
Sexual references
No sexual references are noted in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil shows some use of substances. For example:
- King John and Queen Ingrith serve wine at a meal. The adults drink. During a heated moment, Prince Phillip asks for ‘more wine!’
- A powdery substance made from the Tomb Bloom flower is used to poison and kill fae.
Nudity and sexual activity
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil has some mild sexual activity. For example:
- Phillip and Aurora kiss and embrace on several occasions.
- Two little fairy creatures hold hands and kiss on the cheek.
Product placement
No product placement is noted in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, but you can expect Maleficent-themed merchandise to be available in store and online.
Coarse language
No coarse language is noted in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. But there are occasional comments meant to insult characters – for example, ‘You reek of humans’.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is a fantasy adventure featuring stunning imagery, animation and costumes. Although this movie is darker than the first Maleficent movie, it has some powerful messages about tolerance and unity. This is a movie that families with older children are likely to enjoy together.
These are the main messages from this movie:
- Love will conquer hate.
- Curses don’t end but are broken.
- We shouldn’t be defined by our appearance or origins but by who we are and what we love and believe in.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include peace, kindness, courage, collaboration, tolerance and empathy.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like:
- spreading lies about people until the lies are widely believed to be true
- believing that one group of people or creatures is better than another
- sabotaging efforts towards peace and sowing the seeds of hate
- killing people indiscriminately.