History TearJerker / Maleficent

* While overall a FlatCharacter that is easily overlooked, it's pretty safe to say that Princess Leila's position within this story actually kind of sucks royally. Her father used her hand in marriage as a bargaining chip to encourage Maleficent's demise, she gets married off to the man that both did what's the equivalent to the unspeakable to Maleficent and (unbeknownst to her) ''killed'' her father when he tried to go back on the deal, watched helplessly as her innocent daughter is cursed by a vengeful Maleficent, is forced into handing over said daughter when she is placed into hiding, and finally witnessed her husband's full decent into megalomania until DeathByDespair from the entire situation did her in shortly before she could meet and connect with Aurora. And to top it all off, while Aurora does grieve Leila's passing it is clear that she regards Maleficent as her true mother and Leila a little more than a footnote .

** Even worse, Maleficent tries to comfort Aurora by taking a step closer to her, only for the latter to jerk back and say "No! Don't touch me!"

* Diaval tries to cheer her up about the curse's fatality by reminding her of the CurseEscapeClause. But after Stefan's betrayal, Maleficent does not believe in true love; she added the CurseEscapeClause just to mock him. So, she has absolutely no hope after the curse takes effect. From her perspective, Aurora is as good as dead.

* Mixed with heartwarming, but [[spoiler:Maleficent's apology to Aurora after the "true love's kiss" failed, leaving her sleeping, is bound to tug at the heart strings.]]

** As pointed out in the character sheet, Maleficent HatesBeingTouched, particularly after Stefan cut her wings off. When Aurora finds out who Maleficent really is, one of her first reactions is to jerk back and tell Maleficent not to touch her. Maleficent basically did to Aurora the very thing Stefan did to her: she broke the heart of a girl who trusted her and loved her.

* The look of desperation on Maleficent's face as [[spoiler:she and Diaval rush to the castle to rescue Aurora is sure to ring bells with any mother at risk of losing their child]], but what really strikes home is [[spoiler:the ThousandYardStare she sports after she senses her magic taking effect]].
-->'''Maleficent:''' [[spoiler:''(quietly)'' It's done...]]
** Related to the above, the scene where [[spoiler:Diaval tries to cheer her up about the curse's fatality by reminding her of the CurseEscapeClause she put in]].
-->'''Diaval:''' [[spoiler:TrueLovesKiss, remember? It can break the spell!]]
-->'''Maleficent:''' [[spoiler: [laughing sardonically] True love's kiss? Have you ''not'' worked it out yet? I cursed her that way because there is no such thing.]]

* It can be heartbreaking to see baby Aurora just crying out of hunger as her three guardians more or less sleep soundly, especially since she takes to drinking the nectar from the flower that Diaval brings her without any hesitation whatsoever: it brings to mind parental neglect, adding another layer to the AdultFear themes already present in the film.

-->'''Maleficent:''' [[spoiler: [laughing sardonically] True love's kiss? Have you ''not'' worked it out yet? I cursed her that way because there is no such thing.]]

*** Listen closely. The most prominent voice is Maleficient's, when she puts emphasis on 'this curse will last until the end of time'. In a sad, cruel way, her past self could possibly be mocking Maleficient for trying to make amends.

* After finding out the truth about her birth, Aurora gets on a horse an rides off to the castle to meet Stefan. However, upon reuniting with her father, Stefan immediately orders her locked away, because she came home a day early (she was supposed to come the day ''after'' the curse took effect, as a precaution). Aurora ran away from the people she loved but discovered were lying to her, and when she meets her father, she happily greets him, clearly hoping that things will be a lot happier for her in the castle. But instead, Stefan shows her no emotion; years of planning to kill Maleficent and his obsession over the fairy have eradicated any affection he could have had for ''his own daughter''. Notably, the day she arrives, he's more concerned with Maleficent coming for him, to the point that Aurora is just an afterthought.

-->'''Maleficent:''' [[spoiler: [laughing sardonically] True love's kiss? Have you ''not'' worked it out yet? I cursed her that way because there is no such thing.]]
* The ending is this, but in a "tears of joy" way. [[spoiler: Despite all the pain and suffering Maleficent and Aurora have gone through, they managed to make it out alive and now have a happy ending. Aurora's coronation will tug at the heartstrings a bit, just because of how ''happy'' her and Maleficent are again, not to mention the Moors are once again a place of joy for the Fair Folk.]]

-->'''Maleficent:''' [[spoiler: [laughing sardonically] True love's kiss? Have you ''not'' worked it out yet? I cursed her that way because there is no such thing.]]

** It's even worse when one thinks about how Aurora feels throughout all this: Only about a day ago, she was oblivious of her curse, and was perfectly happy at the thought of moving into the Moors with Maleficent and Diaval. In the span of probably an hour, she learns her entire life is essentially a lie: Not only did her aunts hide the truth about her life and her parents, but the woman she saw as like a mother is the reason her life ''is the way it is''. It's not hard to sympathize her when she essentially has an emotional breakdown.

** Even worse, Maleficent tries to comfort Aurora by taking a step closer to her, only for the latter to jerk back and scream "No! Don't touch me!"

** Especially since WordOFGod says it's supposed to be a metaphor for her being raped.

-->'''Maleficent:''' [[spoiler:''(quietly)'' It's all over...]]

-->'''Diaval:''' [[spoiler:But there's another way, remember? TrueLovesKiss. You said it yourself--]]
-->'''Maleficent:''' [[spoiler:''There is no true love'', Diaval! ...True love is a ''lie''. There ''is'' no magical kiss that will break the curse. She's doomed...]]

* The scene where Aurora thinks Maleficent is her "Fairy Godmother" but realizes that she cursed her which causes her to run away from Maleficent. She also starts to cry a little when she asks her if her "Fairy Godmother" was Maleficent.

** Making the moment even sadder is that she was blessed by the fairies to "never be blue" and always experience happiness. Evidently such enchantments can only be stretched so far.

* Mixed with heartwarming, but [[spoiler:Maleficent's apology to Aurora after the "true love's kiss" failed, leaving her sleeping, is bound to tug at the heart strings.]]