50 Fun Facts About Maleficent

Who plays the title role?

She was the first and only choice; producers said the film would not have been made without her.

Who directed the film, in his directorial debut?

He had won production-design Oscars for Avatar and Alice in Wonderland before stepping up to direct.

Who wrote the screenplay?

She had just written Alice in Wonderland for Tim Burton when she was approached in 2009.

Which director was originally attached before dropping out?

He withdrew by May 2011 because of his commitment to Dark Shadows.

Where was principal photography based?

Some location work was done in the Buckinghamshire countryside near Turville.

Where did the film premiere on May 28, 2014?

The Hollywood cinema is Disney-owned and two days later the film opened wide.

For which category was the film nominated at the 87th Academy Awards?

Anna B. Sheppard's team hand-made more than two thousand costumes in about eight weeks.

What is the name of the magical forest realm Maleficent protects?

Earlier drafts gave the realm a fairy king and queen, Maleficent's aunt and uncle, who were cut from the film.

What metal, lethal to fairies, does Stefan use to burn off Maleficent's wings?

He later mass-produces weapons of the same metal in his obsession with killing her.

Diaval, Maleficent's shape-shifting servant, is what kind of bird?

She turns him human to save him from a farmer, and later into a dragon for the castle battle.

Who plays Diaval?

Jim Sturgess and Gael García Bernal had been reported as trying out for the part.

Who plays King Stefan?

Jude Law, Jolie's Sky Captain co-star, had been in negotiations for the role first.

Who plays Aurora?

She was the filmmakers' only choice after they saw her in Super 8.

Which earlier film persuaded producers to cast Fanning as Aurora?

Joe Roth said he brought her to the studio literally the next day and she said 'I'm in'.

What are the names of the three pixies?

The 1959 film's fairies were Flora, Fauna and Merryweather; the remake renamed and demoted them to comic relief.

Which actress plays the bossy pixie Knotgrass?

Staunton called her the most important pixie, in her own head.

Before which birthday is Aurora cursed to prick her finger?

Stefan hides her in a forest cottage until the deadline passes, but the curse takes hold the night she returns.

Whose kiss finally breaks the curse?

Philip's kiss fails; the maternal kiss on Aurora's forehead is the true love's kiss.

What creature does Maleficent turn Diaval into during the castle battle?

In the 1959 animation it was Maleficent herself who became the dragon.

How does Stefan die?

Maleficent had refused to kill him and tried to end the fight peacefully before he attacked again.

Who is revealed to be the film's narrator?

Janet McTeer voices her.

Who plays Prince Philip?

Scheduling conflicts kept him from the sequel, where Harris Dickinson took over.

In which year was the idea first pitched to Disney, as an animated project?

Don Hahn brought it to the animation department, inspired by the just-opened musical Wicked.

Which Broadway musical inspired the timing of the original pitch?

Both stories reframe a famous villain as a misunderstood protagonist.

Producer Sean Bailey likened his take on the story to which Godfather character?

He wanted a character to do something empirically terrible, curse a child, and still win sympathy.

Which film commitment made the original director withdraw in May 2011?

He had earlier paused the project for Sweeney Todd and Alice too.

Stromberg designed which film before being given Maleficent to direct?

Disney asked him to design Oz first, then promised him a film to direct.

At least how many versions did the screenplay go through?

Paul Dini also did rewrites and was credited in early press.

Miranda Richardson and Peter Capaldi shot scenes as which characters, all cut from the film?

Their fairy king and queen went when more than 15 minutes were trimmed from the first act.

Roughly how much did Jolie earn for the role?

It made her the highest-paid actress of 2013.

Which of Jolie's children plays the five-year-old Aurora?

She was the only child on set not frightened of Jolie in full costume; Shiloh had turned the part down.

Isobelle Molloy, the young Maleficent, was spotted in which West End show?

She did three auditions, including a screen test, before being cast.

Who replaced India Eisley as the teenage Maleficent when the prologue was reshot?

She had originally auditioned for Aurora; Jolie approved the casting without ever meeting her.

Which future star revealed she auditioned for teenage Maleficent?

India Eisley got the part originally and was herself replaced in reshoots.

Who designed the costumes?

She had about eight weeks to create everything from scratch, drawing on Renaissance French and Italian art.

Who created Maleficent's horns and facial prosthetics?

The seven-time Oscar winner gave Jolie what one critic called an angular, serrated look.

Which director helped Stromberg with the eight-day reshoot of the opening?

He had just finished Saving Mr. Banks; producer Joe Roth stressed he was not directing.

Who composed the score?

It was his first live-action Disney score after Dinosaur, Atlantis and Treasure Planet.

Who recorded the cover of 'Once Upon a Dream' used as the title song?

The single was given away free on Google Play for a limited time after the 2014 Grammys.

'Once Upon a Dream' is based on a waltz by which composer?

It comes from the Grand Waltz of his Sleeping Beauty ballet.

Which Pixar film's delay opened up the May 30, 2014 release date?

Maleficent had earlier been scheduled for March and then July of that year.

Where was a private exhibition of the film's props and costumes held in May 2014?

It raised money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

What was the film's worldwide gross?

That made it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2014 and Jolie's biggest ever.

What was the film's production budget?

A UK rebate of about $37 million helped offset the cost.

How much did the film earn in its North American opening weekend?

Disney had expected about $60 million; it was Jolie's biggest live-action opening, beating Wanted.

Which country was the film's top market outside North America?

It took $57.6 million there, ahead of China and Mexico.

What approval rating did the film receive on Rotten Tomatoes?

Critics praised Jolie and the costumes but faulted the script and direction.

Who directed the 2019 sequel, Mistress of Evil?

The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales director was in talks by October 2017.

A 2018 screening with one actor live-dubbing every character was held in which country?

Peter Baykov later performed part of the trailer on Bulgaria's Got Talent and was cast as Philip in the sequel's dub.

How many weeks did the film run at the Maltese box office, where it was 2014's most-watched film?

It was also one of four Disney releases of 2014 to pass $500 million worldwide.