Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

Film: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
Stars: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Harris Dickinson
Director: Joachim Ronning
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Makeup & Hairstyling)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

In an era where we get almost carbon copy versions of Disney films like The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast, it's comparatively refreshing to see something like the Maleficent franchise (and yes, it feels safe to call it a franchise at this point-has Disney already signed up for a third or a TV series?), where the story is, in theory, unique.  Maleficent's first outing came before the era where we simply recreated the same animated film with real-life actors, and thus with its sequel, it expands further into the Sleeping Beauty universe, this time focusing on the family of a recast Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson replacing Brenton Thwaites...a step-up in virtually every way conceivable).  However, once you get over the happiness that is caused by this being a story you don't know by heart-is it any good?

(Spoilers Ahead) The film picks up five years after its predecessor, with Aurora (Fanning) now Queen of the Moors and Maleficent (Jolie) her surrogate mother.  Aurora is engaged to Prince Philip (Dickinson), who wants to bring his bride (and her mother) to meet his parents, including the scheming Queen Ingrith (Pfeiffer).  Once there, Maleficent is accused of cursing the king (turns out, it was Ingrith trying to set her up), and she is attacked while she leaves the castle, with Aurora unknowingly inviting the creatures of the Moors into a trap.  It turns out Ingrith has a powder that will turn magical creatures into ordinary beings or just into dust, and in a cruel attack, starts doing this to the creatures of the forest before Aurora, Maleficent, and an enlightened Philip save the day.

The film is more involved than that plot (there's an entire side sequence featuring Chiwetel Ejiofor where Maleficent meets other horned creatures such as herself), but we'll leave it there because it's really all you need.  Maleficent 2 is more fun and intriguing than the original (which you might recall I didn't enjoy), aided by a more confident Jolie and Pfeiffer taking on the role of a villain with grater aplomb, but it's not tight in the way that you'd expect from a Disney movie.  The film's meander into Maleficent's origins are dull & kind of pointless, and I ended up being bored by it, but the attack scene was moving (particularly when the Blue Fairy sacrifices herself to save the rest of her forest folk), and visually impressive.

The film's Makeup nomination feels right as well.  This isn't a case where you're nominating the same creations of the original, but instead signing up for more horns, more trolls, more woodland critters, and of course Pfeiffer looking glamorously royal.  There's not a lot to be said for Elle Fanning (I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I tend to like Dakota better still even if in adulthood she's not approached the fame of her sister), but the film is pleasant if meandering-the sort of movie it'd be easy to see on a lazy rainy day, even if it's also a movie you'll have forgotten by nightfall.