Line #24 TearJerker/Maleficent


1	!!Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies to Tearjerker pages. All spoilers are unmarked.
2
3	* Maleficent waking up to discover the loss of her wings. Her confusion and disorientation turns to disbelief, then horror, culminating in a truly heart-rending HowlOfSorrow.
4	** Especially since WordOfGod says it's supposed to be a metaphor for her being raped.
5	* When Maleficent tries to revoke Aurora's curse without success. She shouts with increasing desperation as the magics clash, and in the end there's just this sinister green light left. As much as she'd like to pull a heel face turn, there're just some things Maleficent can't take back.
6	** When she fails to revoke it, we hear some voices repeating what she said when she cast it; it's almost as if the curse was ''taunting'' her.
7	* As she reluctantly tells Aurora that she used to have wings, [[TheStoic Maleficent is quite reserved]], and yet, you can hear her voice breaking just a little. It's been sixteen years, and her wounds didn't heal in the slightest.
8	* Mixed with heartwarming, but Maleficent's apology to Aurora after the "true love's kiss" failed, leaving her sleeping, is bound to tug at the heart strings.
9	--> '''Maleficent:''' "I will not ask your forgiveness because what I have done to you is unforgivable. I was so lost in hatred and revenge. Sweet Aurora, you stole what was left of my heart. And now I have lost you forever. I swear, no harm will come to you as long as I live. And not a day shall pass that I don't miss your smile."
10	* 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.
11	** Throughout the scene, Maleficent looks like she herself is about to cry.
12	** 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!"
13	---> '''Aurora:''' "You're the evil that's in the world. It's you!"
14	** 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.
15	** 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 ''she was cursed in the first place''. It's not hard to sympathize with her when she essentially has an emotional breakdown.
16	* After Aurora runs away, Maleficent commands to Diaval to find Phillip. She just told him that the kiss won't work, but now, she's grasping at straws.
17	* After finding out the truth about her birth, Aurora gets on a horse and 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.
18	** ''The Curse of Maleficent'', one of the film's novelizations, also adds one more detail: While being taken to her room, Aurora asks the guards where her mother is. The guards then inform her that Leila [[KilledOffscreen died not too long ago]]. Aurora takes it as well as one would expect.
19	* The look of desperation on Maleficent's face as 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 the ThousandYardStare she sports after she senses her magic taking effect.
20	-->'''Maleficent:''' ''(quietly)'' It's done...
21	* 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. She thinks Aurora will never wake up.
22	-->'''Diaval:''' TrueLovesKiss, remember? It can break the spell!
23	-->'''Maleficent:''' ''(laughing sardonically)'' True love's kiss? Have you ''not'' worked it out yet? I cursed her that way because there is no such thing.
24	* 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 themes already present in the film.
25	* 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 did what's the equivalent to the unspeakable to Maleficent – and in the novelization (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 as her husband (who most likely never loved her) fully descended 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.
26	* To a small extent, Stefan's death. Not for his sake, but for Maleficent's as she stands over his body. It's framed as a somber moment, not a victory; in spite of everything, she still seems to feel some sadness at the demise of the man she once loved.

Context TearJerker / Maleficent