In The Curse of Maleficent: The Tale of Sleeping Beauty, an adaptation by Elizabeth Rudnick, Long ago, there was a faerie named Maleficent. She lived in the magical land known as the Moors, a place where faeries could live in peace, protected from the human kingdom that sook to take over and destroy the Moors. One day, Maleficent befriended a human named Stefan, and soon she truly believed he was her true love. But one day she was betrayed when Stefan cut her wings off her back and became the human king. Filled with anger, Maleficent invaded Stefan’s baby shower for his newborn child, Aurora, cursing her that on her sixteenth birthday she would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep like death.
Unaware of her cursed fate, Aurora was raised miles away from any spinning wheel by three faeries in the woods. But when Aurora discovers the truth about Maleficent and her curse, will she and Maleficent herself be able to stop Aurora’s fate from coming true? Or is it too late for Maleficent to set things right?
My Thoughts
I love the movie Maleficent. It is one of my favorite movies of all time and I simply adore Maleficent as a character. I think one of the things that sets Maleficent apart from the other live-action adaptations of classic Disney movies is that they actually made the story different and a fresh retelling, rather than just a bland cash-grab feeding off people’s nostalgia. In my opinion, it’s a huge step up from the original Sleeping Beauty.
When I saw The Curse of Maleficent: The Tale of Sleeping Beauty, I had to get it. And I’m glad I did! There’s already a novel adaptation of the Maleficent movie, and it’s pretty good. It goes into more depth about Maleficent’s and Stefan’s childhood and how they changed through their lives. Both this adaptation and The Curse of Maleficent follow very close to the storyline without many big changes though.
But I had to choose between the Maleficent novel adaptation or The Curse of Maleficent, I would definitely choose The Curse of Maleficent. Sure, it’s basically the exact same as the movie, but it tells you more about how Maleficent lived in the Moors before she met Stefan, introduces more characters, and have I mentioned the artwork in this book? The illustrations in The Curse of Maleficent are jaw-droppingly beautiful. Every chapter is graced with these beautiful, full-page pieces of artwork that makes you feel like you’re a part of the book and really brings you into the book’s atmosphere.
This book is no doubt a must-have for lovers of the movie Maleficent. I know I don’t regret getting it, so I highly recommend it. Go out and get yourself a copy!