Characters / Maleficent

Characters of the 2014 film Maleficent and its 2019 sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

For the animated film it was based on, see Sleeping Beauty.

This page contains some unmarked spoilers, so tread carefully.

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Characters introduced in Maleficent

Maleficent

Maleficent

Portrayed By: Angelina Jolie, Isobelle Molloy (young), Ella Purnell (teen)

A fairy who had taken it upon herself to act as the guardian of the Moors. Originally kind and nature-loving, she was horrifically betrayed by her human love Stefan, causing her to loathe him, and humans in general. Her ultimate revenge against him involves cursing his daughter, Princess Aurora.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: The evil fairy in the fairy tale is traditionally illustrated as being old and wrinkly; the Maleficent from the animated Disney film isn't, but being played by Angelina Jolie here puts her on a whole new level.
• Adaptational Dye-Job: A notable feature that differentiates her from the original Maleficent is her skin color; animated Maleficent is green-skinned, while this iteration of her is pale white. There is a subtle nod to her original design, however: when she curses Aurora and surrounds herself with flames, she briefly looks pale green.
• Adaptational Heroism: She's an Anti-Villain in sharp contrast to her original portrayal as a Card-Carrying Villain in Sleeping Beauty.
• Adaptational Intelligence: Maleficent's brain is as sharp as her cheekbones. She tracks down infant Aurora's hiding place before the kid has her first diaper change, without even requiring underlings to do so. Just as well, because the three fairies underwent an opposite adaptation, and Aurora would never have survived without Maleficent's covert interventions. In Sleeping Beauty, she only finds Aurora shortly before the princess comes of age, due to relying on idiotic goblin mooks who are still searching for a baby after 16 years.
• Adaptational Wimp:
  • While she retains most of her powers from the animated Sleeping Beauty, two that would make Maleficent even stronger are absent, namely teleportation — once her wings are cut she's forced to walk, with a cane no less! — and the ability to turn into a dragon.
  • In Mistress of Evil, this is subverted. Her true form turns out to be a phoenix, a creature that can be reborn from its ashes, which means Maleficent cannot be killed.
• Adaptation Species Change: In the second film, her true form turns out to be a phoenix, instead of a dragon, though her phoenix form does have some draconic aspects.
• Aerith and Bob: Goes both ways. Mistress of Evil shows a refuge of Dark Fey like her whose individuals have rather exotic names like Conall, Borra, Shrike, Ini, and Udo. As such, a name like Maleficent stands out, as too common for resembling a word in the English language but also rather uncommon for being longer and different from the others.
• Anti-Hero: In this version, Maleficent has a Heel–Face Turn after breaking Aurora's curse. Despite her intentions being good and taking an active role in fighting the actual villains of the film series, Maleficent still remains a rude person with a haughty demeanor. Mistress of Evil shows she is not above vetoing Aurora's marriage if she feels it won't do her any good. She may not be a villain this time, but she is not a complete heroine either.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Became the de facto queen of the Moors over the course of one night, simply by sitting on a throne she fashioned for herself. Her sentient tree soldiers bent the other fairies to her will using only a Death Glare.
• Badass Boast:
  • A somewhat subdued one:
    Aurora: (speaking to what she clearly believes to be a benevolent, timid little fairy hiding in the bushes) Don't be afraid.
    Maleficent: I am not afraid.
    Aurora: Then come out.
    Maleficent: Then you'll be afraid.
  • Fully so in Mistress of Evil:
    Maleficent: Restrain your pet, or I will.
    Queen Ingrith: If I didn't know better, I'd believe that was a threat.
    Maleficent: Well, do you?
    Queen Ingrith: Do I what?
    Maleficent: Know better?
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Maleficent goes through several kinds of hell and never loses her smooth flawless skin. It's particularly lucky that getting burned by Cold Iron leaves no lasting marks. Downplayed just a bit in her final confrontation with Stefan when she has a few scratches on her face.
• Becoming the Mask: One day, Aurora comes to talk to her and mistakenly believes she is her Fairy Godmother. Considering the sheer incompetence of the three Pixies in raising her and the fact that Maleficent has saved her life on occasion then warmed up to her (up to trying her best to save Aurora from the curse), she has indeed become the girl's fairy godmother in practice.
• Beware the Superman: The Moors' guardian made herself queen.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Not at first. After her wings are stolen, she eventually reaches the level of "so pissed off that she is viciously and violently going to murder you if the situation arises".
• Black Magic: Her curse is treated as such by everyone who hears about it, even after the fact in Mistress of Evil.
• Book Ends: She is flying the first and last time we see her, but in the latter, she is with Diaval.
• Broken Angel: Almost a literal case with Maleficent's loss of her wings. It's half the driving motivation for her Face–Heel Turn. And then she gets them back at a pivotal moment thanks to Aurora.
• Broken Bird: Stefan's betrayal acted as the Cynicism Catalyst, ultimately leading to her Face–Heel Turn.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Non-romantic, gender-flipped version, a bit understated by their frequent Snark to Snark Combats. Maleficent is the brooding, bitter, angst-ridden Byronic Heroine and Diaval is the gentle Nice Guy offering her emotional support. While he is not the one to prompt her full Heel–Face Turn, he does encourage her helping Aurora and bonding with her, which actually leads to Maleficent turning good again.
• Byronic Heroine: She ticks many boxes.
  • Dark and Troubled Past? Stefan, her first love, betrays her and cuts off her wings, crippling her physically and psychologically. She becomes grim, bitter, and cynical, and, beneath her regal façade, dwells on the pains and injustice of her past to the point of obsession.
  • Self-centered? She curses Stefan's infant daughter: to get her revenge, she is willing to effectively murder an innocent girl.
  • Passionate and conflicted? Her thirst for revenge and, later, her conflicted feelings cause half of the trouble in the movie, as well as half of her own problems. Maleficent develops a soft spot for Aurora, and the metaphorical ice in her heart melts, but she finds out she cannot revoke her curse.
  • Troubled integrity? She pulls a Face–Heel Turn after Stefan's betrayal, starts to care about Aurora and feels a great deal of remorse for cursing her, and pulls a Heel–Face Turn in the end.
  • She is charismatic, and as for beauty, well, she is played by Angelina Jolie.
• Card-Carrying Villain: But only at Aurora's Christening. Needless to say, she left one hell of an impression on the King and his followers.
• Catchphrase: She says, "Well, well" a few times. Aurora even borrows it in the sequel.
• Child Hater: She claims she dislikes children. Either she's lying for her reputation, or Aurora becomes an exception. Mistress of Evil proves it was indeed an act, as she is shown to be instantly protective of the Dark Fey children. The final scene of the film has Maleficent joyfully enjoying a flight alongside some of her people's kids.
• Classy Cane: Her staff is a walking cane this time, due to her different center of balance after losing her wings.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Her magic is gold when she uses it for good and green when she uses it for evil. When she tries to revoke her curse, it's a battle between her gold magic and her green magic.
• The Comically Serious: Picking up little Aurora and getting caught in the crossfire of the mud trolls.
• Create Your Own Villain: Her curse puts Stefan on the path to becoming a Knight Templar, but given his earlier betrayal of her, he was already pretty ruthless.
• Cuteness Proximity: She becomes more doting the closer she is to Aurora. She actively tries to resist it. It doesn't work out.
• Cynicism Catalyst: Stefan's betrayal made her lose her belief in love. Additionally, said betrayal — along with the years she spent defending the Moors from invasion — finally made her give up any hope of fairies living in peace with mankind. Her creation of the Wall of Thorns is presented as the final sign that she no longer wants any human near the Moors.
• Dark Action Girl: Naturally, although she didn't gain the "dark" part until after being betrayed.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Despite dressing in black and brown and having downright demonic horns, she is an Anti-Villain at worst. It's in stark contrast with the Sleeping Beauty version of the character, who embodied Dark Is Evil.
• Deadpan Snarker: Most of her best lines are sarcastic and delivered in a deliciously hammy deadpan.
• Deathbringer the Adorable: "Malefic": productive of evil; malign; doing harm; baneful. "-ent" (suffix): characterized in serving of. As a sweet kid, she still has the Obviously Evil name. She grows up to be a downplayed example: she becomes a formidable Lady of Black Magic, but even at her worst, she is still not as evil as her name implies.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best: The novelization provides a bit more background for her by explaining that her parents were very kind, used to protect the Moors, and were killed in battle.
• Declaration of Protection: She makes one to Aurora when she's standing by her bed after the curse has kicked in.
• Decomposite Character: Her dragon form is given to Diaval.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Towards Aurora. It is suspected that she fell prey to her own "gift" that the princess would be "beloved by all who meet her".
• Didn't Think This Through: She did not expect to grow fond of Aurora. After all, she deemed her to be "beloved by all who meet her".
• Disney Death: In Mistress of Evil, she is pierced through the chest with an iron arrow from Ingrith's crossbow and turns to ash. However, due to her having mastered the powers of the phoenix, she is reborn.
• The Dreaded: In spite of her love for Aurora breaking her curse, she is still slandered as a monstrous witch in Ulstead, courtesy of Queen Ingrith. As a result, its people are fearful of Maleficent and are quick to grab their pitchforks in panic when she arrives for dinner with the royal family.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Averted at the beginning of the film and the end, when she has her wings. Played with the rest of the time — she's not evil, but she has her own agenda and is definitely scary.
• Emerald Power: Her magic has a green touch to it.
• Empty Nest: Her conflict with Aurora in the sequel is caused by this: Maleficent vetoes her marriage because she is unwilling to let Aurora go. By the end of the movie, Maleficent makes peace with the marriage — and the fact that now, she can care about the Dark Fae, especially their children, certainly helps.
• Evil Costume Switch:
  • Maleficent wears brown robes until she appears before Aurora for the first time, in which she starts wearing black. She sheds the evil duds once Aurora's curse is broken and she regains her wings.
  • Mistress of Evil has her wearing black for the dinner with Phillip's family; it looks like it's originally meant to be formal wear, but it is at said dinner that she starts back down the dark path. After the wedding, she wears a black one that has a gradient to white.
• Evil Feels Good: Prior to coming to care for Aurora, she's shown reveling in the sorrow her curse has brought upon Stefan and the human kingdom.
• Evil Is Hammy: Yes! She sheds this in spades.
• Evil Is Petty: Making it rain on the three fairies' heads, and later, telekinetically pulling their hair, seemingly just for giggles.
• Evil Wears Black: She used to wear a more tan-colored dress. After her Start of Darkness, she undergoes an Evil Costume Switch to the more iconic Maleficent look. She goes back to wearing tan after King Stefan is relieved of his duties.
• Exact Words: Aurora's curse.
  • She specified that no power on earth can change it. Not even herself when she attempts to revoke it.
  • She added the True Love's Kiss Curse Escape Clause because she believes true love does not exist. She also did not specify what kind of true love, which is why her love for Aurora breaks it.
  • Plus she reinforces the spell that Aurora will be "loved by all", not realizing that means she will fall in love with her as well.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Maleficent's time as The High Queen has her wearing her hair loose. After she is betrayed by Stefan and curses the princess, her hair is covered by her iconic headdress. At the end of the film, it's down again.
• The Fair Folk: While made into an Anti-Villain, it's still clear that being a fairy doesn't relieve her of moral wrongness. Also notable for having fae traits from folklore, like a weakness to iron.
• Fairy Godmother: To Aurora (albeit of the somewhat evil variety). If it wasn't for her, the infant princess would have starved to death before the good fairies got their act together.
• Fate Worse than Death: The theft of Maleficent's wings is treated this way, for good reason.
• Fight Off the Kryptonite: Once her weakness becomes common knowledge among humans, she still does her best to battle against iron weaponry.
• Fisher King: After Maleficent's turn to evil, her kingdom takes on a much darker, foreboding appearance. It doesn't seem to actually become a significantly worse place to live in, though, with the inhabitants remaining just as carefree as ever. It gradually gets nicer looking as she repents on her former evil. It is restored to a fairy wonderland after Maleficent becomes good again.
• Forgot About His Powers: Despite having the magic necessary to levitate some soldiers in the woods and throw them around like rag dolls, she at no point attempts to do this during the final battle. It is implied but never outright stated that the iron burns she sustained and close proximity to the soldiers' iron shields, armor, and weapons have not only disoriented her, but also weakened her to the point that she can't use her magic at all.
• Giggling Villain: At times she goes full-on Evil Laugh, but mostly it's this.
• Good Girl Gone Bad: She was originally a very kind and polite — if not naive — orphaned fairy girl, who used her powers to heal damaged trees and defend the Moors from human armies who tried to invade it. She even befriended a human boy named Stefan and came to love him. However, this all changed when Stefan betrayed her trust and cut off her wings in order to become king, resulting in her becoming a cold and ruthless woman capable of cursing an innocent child to get revenge. Luckily, in this version, Maleficent comes to love Aurora like a daughter and she helps her redeem herself.
• Good Wings, Evil Wings: Black Eagle wings with a bat thumb. They look the type of wings usually owned by evil characters, but she only has them while good, meaning this trope is subverted.
• God Save Us from the Queen!: While she didn't exactly rule over the Moors with an iron fist, her subjects were visibly terrified of the idea of pissing her off.
• Gone Horribly Right: Her curse. It worked just as she was finally growing to care for Aurora, and her Exact Words at its casting prevented her from undoing the spell beforehand.
• Goth Girls Know Magic: She's a powerful sorceress and everything from her appearance to personality radiates goth.
• Green Thumb: She built a wall of sentient, thorny vines that surrounded the Moors, and viciously attacked any hostile soldier that got close to them. She can also summon creatures made of wood and earth to attack her enemies. The sequel implies that this is a common ability among the Dark Fey, but Maleficent is more powerful than any others we see.
• Handicapped Badass: After her wings are cut off, she has to walk with a cane to help with her balance.
• Hates Being Touched: Implied in both the movie (she jerks backwards when Aurora comes too close) and in the novelization (she sends a Death Glare at anyone who tries). It makes sense, considering. It seems to carry over into the second film, as Diaval quickly shoos away a servant who tried to take off Maleficent's cloak, implying that she's still wary about being touched by anyone who isn't Aurora or Diaval.
• Healing Factor:
  • Maleficent recovers quickly from having her wings cut off, and shows no side effects or loss of power (aside from not being able to fly anymore). Also, the wings themselves (being magic and all) do not die or decay. Instead, they remain mostly intact, and quickly reattach to Maleficent when they get the chance.
  • Maleficent also recovers nearly instantly from the burn of Cold Iron as soon as she is no longer exposed.
• Heel Realization: After seeing that her curse went exactly as she planned it, she is upset with herself for casting it.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Eventually becomes this with Aurora, in a mother/ward kind of way.
• High Collar of Doom: Her outfits in her villain phase have this.
• Horned Humanoid: Comes as no surprise. She used to be a Winged Humanoid as well, until Stefan cut them off. She later gains them back.
• Howl of Sorrow: When she realizes what Stefan did to her, she isn't capable of much except this.
• Iconic Outfit: She wears her classic black headdress and robe only once in the film, when showing up to Aurora's coronation. In most of her other appearances in the film, she switches to a scale-patterned headdress and a robe with a dragon motif.
• Incoming Ham: Her introduction at Aurora's christening: "Well, well...". From there, the Ham just becomes even more hammier than ever.
• The Ingenue: When she was younger. Stefan's betrayal beat every ounce of innocence out of her.
• It's All About Me: It's all about her revenge. To get back at Stefan, she curses a newborn girl. She comes to regret it dearly.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She tries to be rude and dismissive to Aurora, but she can't really bring herself to put her heart into it by virtue of how sweet she is. She truly comes to care for Aurora.
• Lady of Black Magic: Just as dark and elegant as her animated counterpart, and able to use powerful black magic.
• Lady and Knight: The Dark Lady, naturally, with Diaval as her Black Knight.
• Last of Her Kind: Implied; she's the only fairy of her type seen throughout the film. Even more implicit in the novelization, where her parents were killed off in the last war. Completely averted in Mistress of Evil.
• Like an Old Married Couple: Since they're both very snarky, she and Diaval have this kind of relationship, despite the whole "master and servant" thing.
• Love Redeems: She genuinely begins to care for Aurora, so much so that she actively tries to break her own curse.
• Mama Bear: Genuinely cares for Aurora, even much more than her biological father. Later applies to the Dark Fey children, as she openly states a vow of protection to the young of her race.
• Meaningful Name/Names to Run Away from Really Fast: "Malefic" means "causing or capable of causing harm or destruction, especially by supernatural means" — which, as a dark fairy and sorceress, she certainly is. Eventually subverted by way of Love Redeems.
• Mind over Matter: Tosses around other soldiers like ragdolls. She also does this, albeit much more gently, to Aurora and Phillip.
• Ms. Fanservice:
  • Angelina Jolie in a Skin-Tight Leather Bodysuit, that is all.
  • Then in Mistress of Evil, she spends a lot of time in a bandage bra, and ends the film in what can only be described as a magical bikini.
• Mundane Utility: Her Magic Staff is more of a walking stick... that doubles as a club.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After she starts to genuinely care about Aurora, she tries to undo her own curse. Unfortunately, the Exact Words of her curse made it so that nothing except true love's kiss can break it. Later, as she feels the curse taking effect, she is devastated.
• Mythology Gag: According to the novelization, Maleficent's dead parents were named Lysander and Hermia.
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: When Aurora's curse takes effect.
• Nice Girl: She is one in the beginning. She is polite and nice to everyone in the Moors and is quick to befriend Stefan in spite of the animosity between fairies and humans.
• No Social Skills: In Mistress of Evil, she needs to practice even a polite smile before going to the dinner with Phillip's parents, all while Diaval, a literal raven proves quite knowledgeable about human courtesies. She is terrible at small talk, and while King John, Phillip, and Diaval awkwardly Talk About the Weather and try to dissolve the tension, Maleficent falls for Queen Ingrith's obvious provocations.
• Not His Sled: The character's iconic dragon form from the Disney classic is instead given to her raven Diaval, who also has a human form.
• Not So Above It All:
  • She is the grim, angst-ridden Byronic Heroine... until she starts trolling the fairies cooing and snickering to herself. Diaval looks disturbed.
  • Later, the trolls accidentally splash her with mud while playing with Aurora. Diaval bursts out laughing, and Maleficent magically pours mud all over his head.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: Phillip has a great respect for her, but Maleficent can't even hide her disdain for him and his people. Even Aurora has to make her promise not to use her magic against him. Subverted in Mistress of Evil where she gives her full blessing to the prince to marry Aurora, having recognized his worth.

• One Hero, Hold the Weaksauce: Downplayed. She's still vulnerable to iron, but her power of rebirth as a phoenix means that it can't kill her.
• One-Woman Army: Subverted in that the Moors' army is quite massive, yer all made out of manifestations created by her magic, thus a part of her. That said she can still kick ass easily when on her own.
• Our Elves Are Different: Is identified as a "winged elf" by King Henry.
• Parental Abandonment: Her parents died when she was young; the novelization explains that they were killed while defending the Moors from King Henry's army.
• Parental Substitute: Though she isn't particularly nice, she's a much more competent guardian towards Aurora than the Fairies are.
• Pet the Dog: Saving Diaval certainly counts. And Aurora, who very quickly turns into her Morality Pet.
• The Phoenix: As of Mistress of Evil, her true form is a phoenix. Indeed, she turns into the bird after she is killed by Ingrith and turned to ashes. An earlier scene has Conall explaining that Maleficent is the latest step of the mythical bird's evolution.
• Power Incontinence: When she's angry, she releases destructive waves of green magic.
• The Prankster: She doesn't resist magically pranking the Pixies while Aurora is growing up in their care.
• Promoted to Parent: Fully complete by the end of Mistress of Evil, in which Aurora refers to her as "Mother" and she in turn openly calls Aurora her daughter.
• Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Played with. While she certainly is cruel and petty to Stefan and Leila and curses their daughter out of spite, she did have a good reason for it. Stefan didn't exactly treat her well, after all.
• Rape as Drama: Played with. Word of God states that her getting her wings stolen is a metaphor for rape, which causes her Start of Darkness.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Even in her 'evil period', she takes care of the Moors. She also reacts quite moderately when hit with a mud pie.
• Redemption Earns Life: She survives after pulling a Heel–Face Turn.
• Revenge by Proxy: The main reason she cursed Aurora was to get back at Stefan for betraying her.
• Screaming Warrior: She often screams in rage as she swoops on her enemies.
• She Who Fights Monsters: Stefan betrays an innocent (fairy) girl for selfish reasons. She turns evil and curses another innocent girl to get back at him.
• Shipping Torpedo: Is completely against Aurora and Phillip's engagement. Her initial reaction to the news in Mistress of Evil is to declare to Aurora that there will be no marriage. Subverted at the end, where Maleficent walks her down the aisle to marry Phillip.
• Silly Rabbit, Romance Is for Kids!: After Stefan's betrayal, she loses all belief in "true love." Which is why she used the Curse Escape Clause that she did. If True Love's Kiss doesn't exist, then the escape clause will never trigger. Fortunately, she was wrong about that. Still has shades of this in Mistress of Evil, telling Aurora that "love doesn't always end well".
• Slasher Smile: A downright terrifying one while cursing Aurora. It only gets worse while she revels in Stefan pleading with her to stop.
• Spared by the Adaptation: She doesn't die in this film.
• Spectacular Spinning: When she flies, Maleficent seems to favor spinning as an impressive method to gain speed.
• Start of Darkness: Being mutilated in her sleep by Stefan was bad enough. Finding out he did it just so that he could become king was the last straw.
• The Stoic: After her Start of Darkness, she carries herself with regal detachment. Most of the time.
• Stylish Protection Gear: Her winter cloak is lined with fur.
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: She is a powerful fairy with yellow irises.
• Super-Strength: She is strong enough to throw grown men around and Neck Lift Stefan in their final battle.
• Symbolic Mutilation: By cutting off her wings, Stefan takes away her innocence, sense of safety, and her happiness; her vengeance consumes her. At the climax, Aurora, freshly awakened by Maleficent's own True Love's Kiss, finds the wings and sets them free, so they reattach to Maleficent, she wins the fight against Stefan and his solders, and is shown to be happily soaring in the sky at the end.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Aurora's seeming rejection of her in Mistress of Evil seems to trigger this kind of reaction.
• There Is Another: In fact, there are quite a few others. She's not the only kind of big winged, horned fairy out there.
• Troll: She really seems to get a kick out of screwing with the three Fairies, such as making it rain on them or pulling their hair with magic.
• True Love's Kiss: Discussed. Stefan claimed to give it to her, but really he wasn't, and she later places it as a way to break the curse because she believed that it didn't exist. Later, her love for Aurora breaks the curse.
• Tsundere: A non-romantic example, towards Aurora.
• Tranquil Fury: Her attitude towards Stefan and his cohorts after her wings are stolen.
• Unbalanced By Rival's Kid: She's visibly affected upon learning of Aurora's birth.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Can you believe that the Mistress of All Evil used to be a sweet, loving, kind little girl that was in love with a human boy?
• Villainous Cheekbones: Subverted; while (like her animated counterpart) she does have cheekbones you could sharpen a knife on (achieved via prosthetics on Ms Jolie), she's more of an Anti-Hero in this version than an outright villain.
• Villain Protagonist: Zig-Zagged. While the movie is, supposedly, a Perspective Flip of Sleeping Beauty where Maleficent is a Card-Carrying Villain, she starts off good, then has a very good reason to turn bad, than comes to deeply regret her most evil act, then undoes it with The Power of Love, like a true heroine would.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Though she does it to Diaval instead of herself. It seems she can't do it to herself. Even with all the magic she throws around, she never once alters herself through it, which would suggest she's unable to. Otherwise, she wouldn't need Diaval to be her "wings".
• Weaksauce Weakness: Her one major Achilles' Heel is iron, which is a common weakness for fairies. It burns her skin and temporarily deactivates her Healing Factor, as well as severely weakening her magic. Otherwise, she's virtually unstoppable.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Stefan — they nearly became lovers before he tore her wings off.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: As a child: the novelization describes her as sharing her parents' hope that humans and fairies would live in peace.
• Wind from Beneath My Wings: When she has her wings, they can create gusts of wind strong enough to blow armored men off of their horses and send them flying.
• Winged Humanoid: Maleficent used to be one (though they were aquiline, angel-type wings rather than the more insectoid ones fairies stereotypically have), and her wings were cut off by Stefan, which triggered her Start of Darkness.
• Woman Scorned: Though it's actually rather closer to 'woman brutally date-raped and mutilated'.
• Would Hurt a Child: Maleficent curses Aurora, an innocent newborn. She really regrets it later.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Let's just say she had a damn good reason for hating Stefan so much.

Princess Aurora

Princess Aurora

Portrayed By: Elle Fanning (ages 16 and 21), Vivienne Jolie-Pitt (age 5), Eleanor Worthington-Cox (age 8), Janet McTeer (voice only, elderly)

The daughter of the deceased King Stefan and Queen Leila, Maleficent curses her on the day of her christening to fall into an enchanted sleep by pricking her finger on a spindle before sundown on her sixteenth birthday. To prevent that from happening, the king orders her sent away into the care of the three good fairies until the day after the curse is to take effect.

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• Action Survivor: In the sequel, Queen Ingrith locks her in a room, so Aurora makes a Bedsheet Ladder out of the wedding dress given to her by the queen and tricks the guards into thinking she got out so they would open the door and rush to the window, and she can sneak out and lock them in.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In Sleeping Beauty, Aurora was saddened to learn that she was a princess, believing that that would mean she could never be together with Phillip (she thought he was just a commoner like her, and, being a princess, she'd have to marry into royalty). In this film, more emphasis is placed on how Aurora, having learned the truth about her identity, her curse, and Maleficent, feels betrayed by the people she saw as her family.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: Inverted, somewhat. This film's Aurora looks a good deal more childlike than the original 1959 character. A case of Reality Is Unrealistic; Aurora's original design was modeled after actresses in their twenties, despite still being sixteen in canon. If anything, this film's incarnation actually does look like an actual teenager, by virtue of being portrayed by one.
• Adaptational Badass: While still too close to the Princess Classic to be an actual badass, she still gets far more to do in this adaptation than in the original movie — while there she was pretty much knocked out for a third of the film, this Aurora rides off to her father of her own volition, assists in the final battle, and later becomes Queen of both the Moors and the human kingdom.
• Adaptation Name Change: She was never raised as "Briar Rose" like she was in the original film.
• Affectionate Nickname: Maleficent calls her "beastie" at first in a decidedly not affectionate way, but it becomes this trope later on.
• Age-Inappropriate Dress: Defied. An interview with the film's costume designer states that Aurora's dresses were intentionally made to be less form-fitting than her animated counterpart's. This was both for thematic reasons (to emphasize her role as The Ingenue) and practical reasons (Fanning was only fourteen during filming).
• All-Loving Hero: Because of the fairies' gifts, there was no way Aurora couldn't be this. She shows genuine love and affection for everybody she meets and believes the best in people.
• All There in the Manual: Elizabeth Rudnick's novelization The Curse of Maleficent has some chapters written from Aurora's POV, thus allowing her more Character Development than what was readily apparent onscreen.
• …And That Little Girl Was Me: At the end, the Narrator asserts that Maleficent is the true version of events... because she "was the one they called Sleeping Beauty." Mistress of Evil further has Narrator!Aurora indicate in the opening that the version told in Sleeping Beauty is a warped version of events, and Queen Ingrith later reveals that she distorted the tale to suit her purposes.
• Ascended Extra: For someone who was the title character, Aurora didn't have much to do in Sleeping Beauty — in the first part she was losing screentime to the two kings, Phillip, and the fairies while she was comatose in the second. Here, she has far more screentime and far more to say for herself.
• Awesome Moment of Crowning: She is crowned Queen of both the human kingdom and the Moors at the end of the film.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Downplayed in the sequel. She has a few scratches on her face after the final battle, and Maleficent heals her, just in time for her wedding to Phillip.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She hates Queen Ingrith for the things she's done and comes dangerously close to stopping her plans all on her own.
• Big "NO!":
  • Variation; she desperately yells "Stop!" at Stefan's knights when they begin their assault on Maleficent. She tries to do more than yell, but she's still ultimately a young girl going against some heavily armed soldiers.
  • A straighter, downplayed example (albeit not downplayed enough to qualify as a Little "No") is when she starts crying as she realizes Maleficent was the fairy who cursed her as a child. Maleficent tries to reach out and comfort her, only for Aurora to jerk back and burst out "No! Don't touch me!"
• Break the Cutie: When she finds out about the curse, and that her fairy godmother was the one who cursed her. She gets better by the end.
• Calling the Old Man Out:
  • In an adoptive variation, her reaction to finding out Maleficent cursed her — as well as the fact that she never told her about it — is pretty much this. Can also be a downplayed example of What the Hell, Hero?, since Maleficent was by that point coming around.
    Aurora: "When were you going to tell me that I'm cursed?"'
  • A somewhat straighter example occurs in one of the novelizations; upon meeting her father, Aurora asks him why, if he really did love her, he never bothered to visit her as she grew up. At this point, however, Aurora is starting to put two and two together and is coming to the realization that Stefan doesn't love her.
• Child of Two Worlds: In a sense; she was born in the human kingdom, and is its rightful heir, but she grows up in the woods and loves the Moors. This is partly why she is made Queen of both realms. The official synopsis lampshades this, stating that Aurora's main conflict is having to choose between the land that is her legacy, and the fairy realm, which she has grown to love.
• Clothing Reflects Personality: For the most part, at least. She wears yellow/gold dresses for most of the film, and is happy during those scenes. By the film's third act, when she learns of her curse, she's wearing a blue dress, reflecting her conflicted feelings (the dress also doubles as a Mythology Gag for her original 1959 dress). When she's crowned Queen, her dress is a brighter gold than previously, reflecting how happy she is again.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Spends most of her scenes wearing yellow/gold-colored dresses; appropriate for someone whose name is Latin for "dawn."
• Creepy Child: A downplayed example, from the Three Good Fairies point of view: one of the novelizations has Knotgrass express concern about some of Aurora's activities. Specifically, making a doll with horns to play with and rambling on about being friends with a shadow...
• Curse: Of the sleeping variety. She is Sleeping Beauty, after all.
• Curse Escape Clause: Maleficent places this — it can be broken by True Love's Kiss, but only because Maleficent personally doesn't believe true love exists.
• The Cutie: Innocent, Friend to All Living Things, and spends many of her scenes full of nothing but joy. Being played by Elle Fanning definitely helps.
• Dangerous 16th Birthday: Doomed to eternal sleep by the end of it as part of her curse.
• Does Not Like Men: Downplayed; the novelization has her be wary of any male she meets, as her aunts had warned her about them, as a precaution for keeping her safe. Her thoughts after meeting Phillip basically amount to "Well, that was nice, but moving on..." Note, she doesn't actively hate men, she just prefers not being near them (in fact, when she sees some knights with a broken wagon, she decides to help them). And then subverted as she and Phillip fall in love with each other and are Happily Married at the end of Mistress of Evil.
• Earthy Barefoot Character: She becomes this in the sequel. Lampshaded when Queen Ingrith tells her that there's more to being a queen than walking around barefoot with flowers in her hair.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: As much as she is willing to extend an olive branch for others, she absolutely despises Ingrith for the horrible person she is.
• Fairy Tale Wedding Dress: As befit of a Fairytale Princess, the Fairies of the Moors create her one, while her Aunties gee it up, adding multiple colors during her trek down the aisle.
• Free-Range Children: Freely wanders the forest, and later the Moors, without the Three Good Fairies seeming to notice. Though considering how neglectful they are of her, it's not much of a surprise... For one thing, it's at least an hour or two before they realize she's run off to meet Stefan.
• Forced Sleep: As with her animated counterpart (and literary one too), she also falls under an enchanted slumber. She later recovers.
• Friend to All Living Things: As part of her gift. She is instantly liked by the various fairies she meets and ultimately Maleficent herself. The novelization implies that this is why Maleficent crowns her Queen of both the Kingdom and the Moors; her kindness to both fair folk and humans will make it possible for her to bring an era of peace after all the wars that have plagued the land. If Aurora's narration is anything to go by, she eventually does.
• Girl in the Tower: When her father orders her locked up.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Shows no fear of Maleficent the first time she sees her (the time as a toddler doesn't count) and also cares for the animals of the forest.
• Happily Adopted: At first, she thinks her parents are dead and seems to be happy living under the protection of the fairies.
• Happily Married: To Phillip by the end of Mistress of Evil.
• The High Queen: Is crowned this for both the Human Realm and the Moors, by Maleficent after her father's death. In Mistress of Evil, however, we learn, she had forgo the Human Realm, granting her Father's people independence, remaining Queen of the Fair Folk. By the end, through her marriage to Phillip, she is once again Queen of the human realm as well.
• Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Due to being raised by three fairies who know nothing about taking care of children. If not for Maleficent and Diaval intervening throughout her life, she most likely would have died.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: The Fairies made her this way with their gifts.
• The Ingenue: She's innocent and pure, and becomes the villain's target, and then said villain's Morality Pet.
• Like a Daughter to Me: Maleficent comes to view her as the daughter she never had.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Grows up not knowing about her curse or the circumstances that led to her being raised in the woods.
• Long Hair Is Feminine: This girly princess wears her hair in long blonde curls.
• Love at First Sight: She and Phillip are obviously attracted to each other during their first meeting, although it's unknown whether they are each other's true love. Mistress of Evil shows they are still going strong five years later and are eventually Happily Married.
• Loved by All: Implied. She was blessed to be loved by all. The sole exeption is Queen Ingrith, meaning Maleficent may have only pretended to bless her that way at her christening.
• Magnetic Hero: The fairies bestowed her with this — she is "beloved by all who meet her." Everybody likes Aurora — her guardians, the forest animals, the fairies, Diaval, Maleficent, Phillip, etcetera. The fact that her own father shows her little affection upon their reunion is only a sign of how far off the deep end he's gone.
• Maybe Ever After: Despite his True Love's Kiss failing to wake her, Aurora seems to be on good terms with Phillip at the end of the movie; she smiles at him and invites him to dance with her at her coronation. Linda Wolverton has expressed her belief that Phillip will someday indeed become her true love.
  • Confirmed in "Mistress of Evil" as she and Phillip get married.
• Morality Pet: She is the one who inspires love and caring in Maleficent, who then becomes more of a heroine than a villainess.
• Narrator All Along: As she reveals to the audience, "For I was the one they called Sleeping Beauty."
• Nice Girl: The sweetest, most caring character in the whole film.
• No Sense of Personal Space: When she properly meets Maleficent at the age of 15, in her excitement she steps a bit too close to the fairy, which makes her flustered and causes her to put Aurora to sleep. Other scenes also have her standing/sitting close to Maleficent, and she reaches out and holds the latter's arm when she learns how her wing's were stolen. Because of this, it's clear how hurt Aurora is when she learns about her curse, as her first instinct when Maleficent tries to comfort her is to jerk back and tell her not to touch her.
• Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Vivienne Jolie-Pitt as 5-year-old Aurora, but she's in the film for only one scene and has only two lines, so it's not particularly noticeable. Averted with Eleanor Worthington-Cox, who's British, and Elle Fanning, who talks with the same accent she used in Ginger and Rosa.
• Not So Above It All: She's kind to everyone, be they human, animal, or fairy, but she's not above being a little mischievous, as shown when she throws mud back at the wallerbogs when they randomly decide to throw some while her back is turned.
• Not-So-Imaginary Friend: The pixies believe the horned shadow Aurora talks about is simply an imaginary friend. Directly stated in the novelization.
  If only she would stop going on about her weird imaginary friend. She kept saying she loved the sweet shadow that followed her around, that she wanted to invite it in for tea. Honestly, that child was so strange.
• The Pollyanna: As part of the gifts she received from the Fairies, she's positively upbeat throughout the whole movie. This disappears when she learns the truth about Maleficent, but it returns once Maleficent rescues her from her curse.
• Princess Classic: Beautiful, kind, and feminine, friend of all animals and fairies, and so on.
• Protectorate: For Maleficent and Diaval.
• Really Royalty Reveal: Although the audience knows she's a princess, Aurora was raised to believe she was a peasant girl, and doesn't find out that her father's the king until midway through the movie. She's understandably upset about it.
• Rebellious Princess: In the novelization; she decides to go exploring behind her aunts' back, under the guise of simply going out to pick berries, among other things.
• The Reveal: At the end of the movie, it's revealed that she was the Narrator All Along.
• Rule of Symbolism: Maleficent's curse on her. When the fairy tries to revoke it while Aurora is asleep, the curse's energy comes out of her body, and when she pricks her finger, it can be seen traveling through her veins. Given that the curse is going to put her into a "sleep like death," the visuals give the impression that it is a virus festering inside her body.
• Sins of Our Fathers: Maleficent curses her because of the wrongdoings of her father.
• Spanner in the Works: She acts as this twice.
  • First, her anguish at learning about her curse and her true identity prompts her to run back to Stefan a day earlier than she was supposed to; as a result, this allows the curse to kick in, placing her into the eternal sleep that the Three Good Fairies had spent sixteen years trying to negate.
  • Secondly, her presence at the final battle allows her to free Maleficent's wings, which return to the fairy just moments before Stefan is about to strike the killing blow.
• Take a Third Option:
  • Implied. Before she turns sixteen, Aurora declares that she'd just like to live in the Moors forever — until she meets Phillip and learns about her father and the curse, at which point she's upset and conflicted. And then her curse takes effect. In the end, it's implied she resolves this by becoming queen of both kingdoms.
  • Her running back to her father is presented as this, as well; having realized that both her godmother and her aunts were lying to her, she decides seeking out her biological parents is the best option.
• True Blue Femininity: The dress she wears in the climax is baby-blue.
• Unkempt Beauty: Is this, what with growing up in the woods and all.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: After finding out the truth about her life and Maleficent, she runs away to meet her father. She happily embraces him and tells him who she is... Only for him to lock her in her room, because she came home too early. Ouch.

Diaval

Diaval

Portrayed By: Sam Riley

Originally an ordinary raven caught in a net, Diaval is saved when Maleficent transforms him into a man, scaring off the superstitious human about to kill him. Bound to her by that life debt, Diaval serves Maleficent primarily by acting as her new "wings".

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: His human form counts; his raven form, too, but that's more a consequence of using a live bird instead of an animated one whose design can be stylized. His dragon form even looks less demonic than the animated film's, but again, different medium.
• Adaptational Badass: While he was already the most capable of Maleficent's minions in the animated film, here it gets taken one step further, by being transformed (and this much more physically capable) into a variety of animals, including a wolf and later on a dragon.
• Adaptational Heroism: In addition to being a lot nicer than his animated counterpart, he inevitably also becomes more heroic, such as attacking the guards who manhandle Aurora while in raven-form to burning everyone to a crisp when being turned into a dragon.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: He's actually the nicest character in the movie, quite different from the cruel raven people know from the Disney classic. Diaval immediately takes a liking to Aurora, and subsequently raises her (secretly) in the face of the pixies incompetence.
• Adaptation Name Change: From Diablo to Diaval; both mean 'Devil' in their respective languages, with the change from Spanish to Irish made to reflect the actor's nationality.
• Affectionate Nickname: Is dubbed "pretty bird" by a young Aurora. She seems to drop it after being formally introduced to him, though.
• All Love Is Unrequited: Possibly. The novelization implies that he has feelings for Maleficent. While Maleficent is shown to be fond of him, if she returns said feelings, or is even aware of them in the first place is never made clear.
• Androcles' Lion: He chooses to work for Maleficent after she saves his life.
• Ascended Extra: Considerably — while he served a similar purpose in the animated film, he wasn't given a great deal of characterization. In this, he ends up being very important to the climax of the film.
• Bears Are Bad News: Invoked in a conversation with Maleficent before the dinner with Phillip's family in Mistress of Evil: he wants to be turned into a bear because they are strong and a threat to the enemy. He gets his wish in the climax, as Maleficent turns him into one to attack some of Ingrith's men.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He is one of the nicest characters in the movies, arguably second only to Aurora. Threaten his loved ones and Diaval won't hesitate to burn someone to a crisp as a dragon or maul several guards as a bear.
• Bound and Gagged: Stefan's knights manage to muzzle and bind him with chains while he's in his dragon form. Maleficent later frees him, and the first thing he does is burn his captors.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Non-romantic, gender-flipped version, a bit understated by their frequent Snark to Snark Combats. Maleficent is the brooding, bitter, angst-ridden Byronic Heroine and Diaval is the gentle Nice Guy offering her emotional support. While he is not the one to prompt her full Heel–Face Turn, he does encourage her helping Aurora and bonding with her, which actually leads to Maleficent turning good again.
• Call-Back: When he first meets Maleficent, she frees him from a net and saves his life. At the end of the movie, he does the exact same thing.
• Cassandra Truth: In Mistress of Evil, he's dragged aside on the faries' way to Aurora's wedding, with the soldiers telling him that the "other" folk are meant to take their place first due to the trap in the church organ. He tries to tell them that he's not a human, but goes unbelieved.
• The Confidant: To Maleficent. He serves as her "wings", and knows about and supports her in her schemes, though he does call her out when he thinks she goes to far.
• Clever Crows: Sure, he's a raven, but it still applies. Not only is he highly observant and somehow manages to raise a child while in raven-form, Diaval seems also well-versed in human customs and courtesies, to the point that he has to teach Maleficent in order for her to make a good impression on Phillip's parents.
• Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Maleficent turns him into a human to save him from being killed by a farmer; his first words to her are "What have you done to my beautiful self?" Maleficent promptly lampshades it by asking if he'd have preferred being beaten to death.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Originally, he's a black raven, he dresses in black as human and is Maleficent's second-in-command. He's a consistently nice and moral character.
• Deadpan Snarker: Despite his loyalty to Maleficent, he still gets in some snarky lines.
• Deathbringer the Adorable: Even worse than Maleficent. His name means "devil", and he is a Nice Guy through and through.
• The Dragon: To Maleficent, though he serves as a non-malicious example. Eventually, becomes a literal example.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Though, like Maleficent, he's not evil, just morally ambiguous.
• Empathic Shapeshifter: Maleficent is the one who turns him into other creatures, though he doesn't seem to mind it, with the exception of the time he is turned into a wolf.
• Expy: The Sleeping Beauty / Maleficent companion book Once Upon A Dream says he was modeled after Stanley Tucci's character in The Devil Wears Prada.
• Facepalm: Pulls one off in his raven form when he saw the fairies trying to feed the baby Aurora carrots...
• Facial Markings: Upon being turned into a human, he sports a variety of interestingly shaped markings, which may or may not be scars, some of them on his face.
• Fantastic Racism: He hates dogs and wolves, so much that he complains to Maleficent about her turning him into a wolf at one point.
• Forced Transformation: Courtesy of Maleficent's powers, who changes him into whatever form she considers is better for the situation at hand. Diaval, for the most part, is unbothered by it, with the exception of being turned into a wolf.
• Gender Flip: Since he becomes the iconic dragon, and not Maleficent, this would mean the dragon of this continuity is male.
• Good Is Not Soft: Diaval, despite his name is one of the nicest characters, and an optimist to boot. As a dragon, he doesn't hesitate a second to burn down the king's guards, who were threatening Maleficent.
• Happiness in Slavery: Probably; he pays his debt back at the end of the movie by saving Maleficent's life, but continues to stick around afterwards.
• Humanity Ensues: Started out as a raven before being turned into a human. Diaval wasn't too happy about it at first, but eventually got used to it.
• I Kiss Your Hand: To Aurora when they first meet.
• I Owe You My Life: Though he initially doesn't like having been forcibly turned into a human, he does pledge loyalty to Maleficent afterward.
• Interspecies Friendship: With both Maleficent and Aurora. Him being a raven-turned-human (or whatever creature Maleficent requires at the moment), Maleficent and Aurora being a Dark Fey and a human, respectively.

• Like an Old Married Couple: With Maleficent. Both are Deadpan Snarkers, who while take every given opportunity to bicker about something, but they clearly care for one another.
  Maleficent: Fine! Next time I'll turn you into a mealy worm.
  Diaval: Well, I'll be a mealy worm, gladly!
• Minion with an F in Evil: He's supposed to be assisting Maleficent in her wicked schemes, but he spends most of his time caring for the subject of her ire, Aurora.
• Mistress and Servant Boy: She doesn't necessarily need him to protect her, and usually has him performing more menial tasks. The snarky-but-caring relationship is there, too.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: When he's turned into another animal, he actually becomes a hybrid of that creature and a raven. Even his human form has scars/facial markings that resemble feathers, the beak-like nose and, though well-hidden, has feathers in his hair.
• Morality Pet: While it is Aurora who reforms Maleficent, Diaval still plays an important role in steering her back into good.
• Morphic Resonance: Aside from the human version (which still sports raven-black hair and a beak-like nose), all still retain raven-like features.
• Mr. Fanservice: For those viewers not here for Maleficent, Diaval gets plenty of Fanservice moments.
• Naked on Arrival: After first being transformed. He is clothed for all subsequent transformations, however.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: Rare Male Example. His shirt in his human form is open about halfway down his chest.
• No Badass to His Valet: While Maleficent inspires fear and awe in everyone who meets her, Diaval has no problem whatsoever regularly snarking at her or telling her off when he thinks she goes to far. Most notably, during the mud-fight scene one moorfolk-creature accidentally hits Maleficent in the face with some mud which causes all of them to shrink back in fear. Except for Diaval who loudly cackles about it, right until he gets a face full of mud in retaliation.
• Non-Human Sidekick: As Maleficent's raven, although he's human for a good portion of the film as well.
• Oireland: Has an Irish accent, which makes him stand out among the other, Scottish characters (such as Aurora and Maleficent).
• Papa Wolf: In relation to being a Parental Substitute for Aurora; he angrily pecks at one of Stefan's knights when the latter manhandles the princess at the start of the final battle.
• Parental Substitute: Like Maleficent, he also served as one for Aurora; whereas Maleficent mostly made sure she didn't get killed by the fairies' neglect, Diaval was the one actively feeding, rocking, and playing with her.
• Partial Transformation: All of his transformations retain some physical attributes of a raven, usually feathers and a beak.
• The Pollyanna: More subdued than most, but he remains very optimistic about being able to break Aurora's curse and never seems to be in a bad mood.
• Servile Snarker: Just because he's loyal doesn't mean he can't complain. It's telling that one of the first things Maleficent does is telling him off for complaining about her saving his life.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • He's on board with the idea of Phillip and Aurora ending up together. Then again, it may be less support for Phillip/Aurora itself and more support for Aurora/not ending up in an eternal coma for the rest of her life.
  • Likewise in contrast to Maleficent, he is actually pretty happy for the couple after learning of their engagement.
• Silent Snarker: In his raven form.
• Spared by the Adaptation: He is not turned to stone in this movie.
• Suddenly Voiced: While Diablo never spoke in the original film, this version gains the ability to speak verbally while in human form.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: In his human form anyway.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Pretty much from the moment Maleficent first turns him into a human. She often changes him back into a raven when she's not in the mood for Snark-to-Snark Combat.
• Took a Level in Badass: Maleficent transforms him into progressively larger and stronger creatures; human, giant wolf, horse, and dragon.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Diaval calls Maleficent out on basically giving up on breaking Aurora's curse.
• Wolf Man: Defied. He specifically tells Maleficent to never turn him into a wolf again after being transformed into one, claiming that he'd rather be a mealworm.
• Undying Loyalty: He swore to serve Maleficent until his death, and is doing just that.

King Henry

King Henry

Portrayed By: Kenneth Cranham

The vain, cruel king of the humans at the onset of the film. Henry promised his people that during his reign he would conquer the Moors. When the invasion he launches fails thanks to Maleficent, he declares that whoever defeated Maleficent would be named his successor.

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• Adaptational Jerkass: In the Novelization, rather than naming Stefan his successor for bringing him Maleficent's wings as he did in the film, King Henry mocks and deems Stefan unfit to rule due to being a mere servant, despite his throne being the promised reward for killing her. This leads Stefan to smother him to death and forge his seal to become king.
• Adipose Rex: Though his girth doesn't stop him from leading an army.
• Arranged Marriage: On his deathbed, he says that whoever kills Maleficent will marry his daughter and inherit the throne.
• Beard of Evil: Along with a nice 'stache.
• Brave Scot: He has a Scottish accent, and is certainly brave enough to lead an army in his sixties.
• Bullying a Dragon: Taunting the far more powerful Maleficent during his invasion was not good for his army.
• Fantastic Racism: He hates all fairies.
• Fat Bastard: Personally hates the people of the Moors for no specified reason.
• Greater-Scope Villain: His desire to conquer the Moors ended up causing misery for a lot of people down the line.
• Heir Club for Men: Implied as much. He specifies that the next ruler must marry his daughter and become king instead of Leila becoming queen in her own right.
• I Shall Taunt You: He personally insults Maleficent before his army, right after she states that she doesn't want any harm to befall the Moors.
• Karmic Death: Albeit one that can only be appreciated after reading the novelization. When Maleficent was a baby, Henry's army attacked the Moors, and the ensuing battle killed Lysander and Hermia, Maleficent's parents. When he threatens the Moors in present day, Maleficent's army of Sentries completely overpowers his own, with Henry himself being fatally wounded.
• King on His Deathbed: He gets a scene like this, in which he declares to his surrounding courtiers that whoever defeats Maleficent will succeed him.
• Perilous Old Fool: King Henry is obviously at least in his 60s, yet personally leads his army. However, a violent run-in with Maleficent shows that he's not up for combat anymore and accelerates his death.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Villainous example; he rides into battle alongside his soldiers, and even harms Maleficent to an extent thanks to his Cold Iron armour.
• Small Role, Big Impact: He dies in the first act of the film, but his promise to grant power to the person that defeats Maleficent is what causes Stefan's Start of Darkness.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He looks almost like King Hubert from the original animated film; unlike Hubert, however, he's a complete Fat Bastard.
• Take Over the World: His goal was to conquer the Moors and add it to his dominion. It didn't work out.
• Villainous Valor: He is brave enough to challenge Maleficent personally.

King Stefan

King Stefan

Portrayed By: Sharlto Copley, Michael Higgins (young), Jackson Bews (teen)

Stefan met Maleficent as an orphan boy, attempting to steal a gemstone in the Moors. The two became friends and even fell in love. At the same time, though, Stefan was climbing up in the human ranks. When the dying King Henry promised his throne to the one who could vanquish Maleficent, Stefan obliged. Unable to bear killing her, he severed her wings instead, earning the crown but also triggering Maleficent's Start of Darkness.

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• Ascended Extra: He didn't play a particularly big role in the original animated movie, but in this one...
• Adaptational Badass: While King Stefan in the original animated film was a Non-Action Guy, here, he decides to cut off Maleficent's wings and slowly starts to go mad as the film progresses. At the climax of the film, he decks up in a suit of armor for some one-on-one combat with Maleficent, and would have won if not for the timely return of her wings.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Stefan already underwent Adaptational Villainy for the film itself, but the novelization shows signs of him to be unpleasant from the get-go. For example, he secretly stole a second pearl from the pond, which Maleficent was unaware of until she "visits" Aurora's christening. Then, when Henry mocks him for thinking he could be king, Stefan smothers him to death and forges the proclomation decreeing him Henry's successor. And to top it off, after Maleficent's curse is fulfilled, the fairies suspect that he might be more upset that Malecfient had "won" over him than losing his only daughter.
• Adaptational Villainy: In the original film, he was a mix of Papa Wolf and Bumbling Dad. This version is the Big Bad.
• Ambition Is Evil: He used Maleficent's trust to get close to her with the intent to kill her, but still takes her wings as a trophy, all to secure his place as next in line for the throne.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Despite the massive wrong he did to her, Maleficent adds Aurora's Curse Escape Clause after he gets on his knees and begs for it.
• Badass Cape: He sports an impressive fur one.
• Badass Normal: Of sorts. Most of the more impressive things he accomplishes during the film are done through mundane means, a little bit of brains, and sheer audacity.
• Bad Boss:
  • He backhands one of his generals, who is still covered in soot and burns after trying to light the thorn wall on fire.
  • He forces his head smith to wake the rest of them in the middle of the night to continue his preparations, even though they've already been working all day and are exhausted.
• Beard of Evil: He sports one of these during the Time Skip after he takes over the kingdom.
• Big Bad: He initiated events by stealing Maleficent's wings, causing her to grow angry and cast the curse on Aurora, and is responsible for sending Aurora away with the fairies while also waging war with Maleficent.
• Big Bad Slippage: He certainly didn't start off as the Big Bad, but he becomes one after years of worrying about Maleficent's curse.
• Brave Scot: He has a Scottish accent and is a very competent fighter, if a tyrannical king.
• Death by Adaptation: Near the end on the movie.
• Decapitation Presentation: He couldn't bring himself to take Maleficent's head so her took her wings instead.
• Dirty Coward: Contrast the Brave Scot trope. King Henry at least led his army in an attack on the Moors. Stefan would not even leave the castle to oversee his own troops after Maleficent's terrifying performance at the christening. Despite this, he is absolutely brutal to the soldiers who "fail" him by not successfully breaching the Moors' defenses. He even strikes a badly-burned officer on the face for not succeeding at something Stefan himself would not even try to do! Even his trap for Maleficent invokes this trope: He has all his men attack and incapacitate her as much as possible, so that he can just walk in and stab her with his sword.
• Disney Villain Death: He falls from a tower after attempting to take Maleficent down with him. Averted, however, in that while you don't necessarily see the impact, you do get to see the aftermath, to know he is undoubtedly dead.
• Establishing Character Moment: Stefan's first appearance is as a young boy in the Moors trying to steal a jewel, revealing his ambitious and thieving nature.
• "Eureka!" Moment: While castigating his men for their failure to burn down the thorn wall, he yells that nothing (Maleficent, the wall, etc.) is indestructible, and angrily stabs a model of his castle with a knife. He then pauses to look at the knife, which just happens to be made of iron...
  Stefan: "Bring me the iron workers."
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: King Stefan loves his daughter Aurora, but when they finally reunite, years of growing insanity has left him too emotionally distant to give her fatherly affection, plus he was too focused on preparing the trap for Maleficent.
• False Soulmate: To Maleficent. They have a Childhood Friend Romance and on her 16th birthday he gives her what he calls a True Love's Kiss. However, over time his ambition causes him to grow distant and stop visiting her. When he does finally come to see her again, he uses their close relationship to lower her guard, drugs her and cuts off her wings to become king himself. Maleficent is so devastated by Stefan's betrayal she is convinced that true love doesn't even exist and she uses true love's kiss as the curse's escape clause precisely for this reason.
• Fatal Flaw: He actually has two. His Greed makes him sacrifice his friendship with Maleficent in exchange for power, while his Pride drives him insane as he desperately attempts to keep his riches, while also refusing to admit he was wrong. As with most villains, these flaws ultimately become his undoing.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Stefan was a mere peasant that somehow made his way to become a servant at King Henry's court. By betraying his love for Maleficent, he becomes the new king, and slowly grows to be a paranoid tyrant.
• Heel Realization: Downplayed. After Maleficent foils his attempt at killing her as well as himself, Stefan's face becomes sad and resigned as he falls. In the final moment of his life, Stefan considered how much he had thrown away to achieve his desire to become king and resigned himself to death without a word.
• Heir-In-Law: He became king because he married King Henry's daughter.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: He wears a helmet along with his armor in the final battle… but takes it off almost immediately for no practical reason.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Had he not tried to attack Maleficent, his daughter would have been safely returned to him and he would have survived.
  • Additionally, even in the off-chance she thought about not letting him fall, the iron armor he wore to prevent her from being able to touch his body meant his death was inevitable.
• I Shall Taunt You: Towards Maleficent when he has her cornered in their final battle.
  Stefan: "How does it feel, hm? To be a fairy creature without wings? In a world... Where you don't belong?!"
• Kick the Dog: Or rather, "Backhand The Fairy". When Aurora returns to him of her own free will after sixteen years, he is more fearful of Maleficent's attack than loving towards her, and orders her locked up without showing her any sort of affection.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: After cornering Maleficent and knocking her to the ground, he wraps her in iron chains while ranting at her. Notably, he tosses her across the room instead of leaving her chained up, which would have made her easier to kill; evidently, he simply wanted the chains to inflict more pain, in order to rub his near victory in.
• Knight of Cerebus: An almost literal example in the final battle. Things were already going badly for Maleficent, but the moment Stefan shows up with armor and weapons forged from Cold Iron, you know things have just gone From Bad to Worse.
• Knight Templar Parent: Stefan's plan to protect his daughter involves sending her away to be cared for by incompetent guardians and becoming obsessed to the point of insanity with Maleficent's defeat. Subverted later when it turns out he can't even express any love towards Aurora.
• Laser-Guided Karma: He coldly dismisses Aurora when she finally returns to him as a teen, ordering her locked up. Later on, it's Aurora who finds Maleficent's wings and frees them, allowing the latter to fight back against Stefan. Just to rub it in more, Stefan sees Aurora smiling when Maleficent gets her wings back, letting him know that his daughter is firmly on the side of his arch-nemesis.
• Leave Him to Me!: Implied in the climax; his knights around him have Maleficent beaten to the edge of death, but Stefan steps in intending to deal the killing blow. Also Downplayed, as once she gets her wings back, he immediately goes the practical route and orders them to kill her.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Downplayed. The novel clearly portrays him as regretful of what he did to Maleficent but unwilling to admit he was wrong.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Sharlto Copley's attempt at a Scottish accent.
• Out of the Inferno: When he finally confronts Maleficent.
• Papa Wolf: Subverted. While he initially appears to have Aurora's well being in mind, his Sanity Slippage over his obsession/paranoia regarding Maleficent erase any emotion he would have had for his daughter. Even at her christening, he takes a really long time to step in and beg for her life. Seeing his own daughter helping his enemy by giving her her wings back likely contributes to his Villainous Breakdown.
• Parents Know Their Children: Even after sixteen years, he instantly believes the "urchin" found outside the castle claiming to be his daughter. He also notes that Aurora resembles her late mother.
• Pet the Dog: If nothing else, he doesn't seem to harbor the Fantastic Racism that his predecessor(s) had, personally enlisting the help of the Fairies in trying to prevent his daughter's curse.
• Promoted to Love Interest: In the Disney version, King Stefan was Happily Married to Aurora's mother. Here he had a romantic past with Maleficent that continues to haunt them.
• Properly Paranoid: Stefan appears to be talking to the wings he took from Maleficent, believing they're sentient and still alive. He's right.
• Rags to Royalty: He is introduced as a petty thief who later becomes king by marriage of the humans' kingdom.
• Revenge Before Reason: When Aurora returns to his custody of her own free will, he dismisses her in order to plot his attack on Maleficent.
• Sanity Slippage: His obsession with Maleficent combined with his paranoia eventually drives him mad.
• Slave to PR: He really cares about what his council thinks of him, perhaps because of his lowly upbringing, but you know he's gone too far when he hesitates before begging for Aurora's life, and only after he looks for their reaction.
• Social Climber: The narration describes him as such — becoming king is his primary motivation.
• Spikes of Villainy: Stefan's suit of armour has a couple of spike-shaped protrusions at its collar.
• Take a Third Option: Stefan, caught between his desire for the kingdom and Maleficent, manages to do this and take her wings instead of her life, gaining him the kingdom and letting her live. Unfortunately for him, that mercy leads him to years of misery, paranoia, and mental illness and the eventual loss of all he valued at any time and his life.
• Taking You with Me: After losing everything and getting spared by Maleficent, Stefan furiously grapples her from behind, immobilizing her wings, and drags her with him over the edge of a tower roof in the hope that they both die when they hit the ground. Naturally, Maleficent escapes the mad king's grip before this happens, leaving Stefan to die a Disney Villain Death alone.
• Tin Tyrant: At the end of the movie, he battles Maleficent wearing a suit of heavy iron armor.
• Tempting Fate: Wouldn't it have been better to actually destroy all of the spinning wheels properly instead of breaking them a little, singeing them somewhat, and locking them away in a dungeon in your own castle? This is actually justified, however, as Aurora's curse restores a destroyed spinning wheel to near-perfect condition, so thoroughly destroying them would not have worked.
• Tragic Villain: He Used to Be a Sweet Kid but became power-hungry and eventually descends into madness in his desire to keep that power.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Maleficent decides to spare his life as long as Aurora left with her. He repays the favor by trying to murder her, which leads to his demise.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: He used to be really, really good friends with Maleficent, even falling in love with her. Politics between the kingdoms changed that.
• Villainous Breakdown: Has one when Maleficent regains her wings, returning her air superiority (which he hadn't counted on in his plan to kill her). His facial expression screams "Oh, Crap!," and he furiously yells at his men to kill her, a huge contrast to earlier, when he was perfectly willing to deliver the killing blow personally.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Maleficent. He was the one that screwed their friendship/love over.
• Would Hit a Girl: Stefan slaps one of the fairies and is more than eager to maim Maleficent. For the climax, he prepared an elaborate and painful trap so that he could corner Maleficent and murder her personally.

Princess Leila

Princess Leila

Portrayed By: Hannah New

King Henry's daughter, later Stefan's wife and Aurora's mother.

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• Adaptation Name Change: Aurora's mother was unnamed in the original film, but is named Leah or Beatrice in periphery material. She is, however, named Leila here.
• All There in the Manual: The novelization says she died of a broken heart, presumably from a combination of being separated from her daughter and her husband going insane as time went on.
• Death by Adaptation: She lived to see her daughter return to her in the original film.
• Engagement Challenge: Henry promises her hand to whoever defeats Maleficent.
• Flat Character: She appears in all of one scene, does not get any characterization beyond understandable concern when Maleficent curses Aurora (much like the original film), and is mainly a vehicle to get Stefan the throne and a daughter. She is even Killed Offscreen just to show how far gone her husband is.
• Pretty in Mink: To show her position her Pimped-Out Dress is heavily decorated with fur.
• Satellite Character: Like in the original film, she's defined entirely by her role as Stefan's wife and Aurora's mother.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: She's not present for long, and her death isn't even shown onscreen.

The Three Good Fairies

Flittle, Knotgrass, and Thistlewit

From left to right: Knotgrass, Flittle, and Thistlewit.

Portrayed By: Lesley Manville (Flittle), Imelda Staunton (Knotgrass), Juno Temple (Thistlewit)

Three pixies who arrive at Aurora's christening in order to foster peace between the two kingdoms. When Maleficent curses the young princess, the three of them are charged with raising Aurora in order to avoid the curse.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: Particularly Thistletwit. In the animated film, she's an older, grey-haired grandmother-type, while in this film, she's played by the youthful, attractive Juno Temple.
• Adaptational Comic Relief: The "bumbling matron" aspects of their personalities are exaggerated here for humor.
• Adaptational Dumbass: Go from somewhat bumbling, but still motherly and caring maternal figures in the original film, to incompetent twits who are utterly incapable of properly raising Aurora.
• Adaptational Jerkass: They aren't evil, but they're nowhere near as good and selfless as they were in the original story, especially with how they do a really bad job at raising Aurora, almost getting her killed or severely injured several times through negligence or ignorance, as they constantly get into petty fights and squabbles amongst themselves instead of keeping an eye on the baby. This is toned down mostly in the sequel where they more clearly resemble their original counterparts.
• Adaptational Wimp: They are essentially worthless for the whole duration of the movie. They couldn't take care of a kid to save their life, and they don't even get to dampen Maleficent's spell, she ends up adding the True Love's Kiss clause herself.
• Adaptation Name Change: From Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather to Flittle, Knotgrass, and Thistlewit.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: While they spend most of their screen time bickering and fighting, in the second film, Knotgrass and Thistlewit are devastated when Flittle performs a Heroic Sacrifice to save the creatures of the Moors from Gerda and dies in the process.
• Cloudcuckoolander: They're much more out there in this version of the tale.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Blue (Flittle), yellow/green (Thistlewit), and red (Knotgrass), respectively.
• Death by Adaptation: Flittle died in the second film.
• Demoted to Extra: They were the driving force of the plot in the original, but in this incarnation, Maleficent herself ends up being more of a parent to Aurora than they do.
• Dumbass Has a Point: Knotgrass was correct when she stated that they were to bring Aurora back after her birthday.
• Establishing Character Moment: Being blown away by Maleficent and complaining about her superiority and her big wings in the first few minutes of the film.
• Girly Skirt Twirl: Thistlewit does this upon changing into her peasant woman form.
• Good Is Dumb: The Three Good Fairies are bumbling, idiotic, and a little superficial. However, they're still trying to protect the princess from the curse and have good intentions.
• Hanlon's Razor: They're not overtly malicious towards Aurora, just very incompetent and stupid about caring for her.
• The Hecate Sisters: Straight-laced, stern Knotgrass is the Crone, gentle, kind Flittle (who is always seen with butterflies) is the Mother, and the young Thistlewit is the Maiden.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Flittle gives up her life to save the creatures of the Moors.
• Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Knotgrass claims they are "very good with children". They most certainly are not.
• Law of Chromatic Superiority: Red-wearing Knotgrass seems to be the leader of the trio.
• Lethal Chef: The three fairies are horrible cooks (and all-around terrible housekeepers and babysitters).
• Maternally Challenged: They have no idea how to care for a human baby, to the point where Maleficent has to intervene so the kid will even survive to fulfill the curse.
• Not Quite Dead: Fittle seems to still be alive after being turned into a flower, as she seems to turn Aurora's dress blue during the wedding, and Knottgrass and Thistlewitt turn to her and say they like the color.
• Parental Substitute: Subverted. They're set up to be this, but they end up being terrible at it.
• Parental Neglect: They do a terrible job as Aurora's caretakers. And when they're not being incompetent, they're bickering with each other.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Their actual role in the movie seems to be lightening the mood with their incompetence and bickering.
• Quirky Curls: Flittle and Thistlewit are both ditzy and careless, and both have curly hair. Thistlewit in particular has a head full of tight blonde curls.
• Shipper on Deck: They help Phillip plan his proposal to Aurora.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: They disappear right before the climax, only reappearing later to present Aurora with her crown during the coronation.
• Took a Level in Kindness: They are much more likable and loving towards Aurora in the second film.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: They accidentally let slip that Aurora's father is alive to her, causing Aurora to run off to the castle. The curse then hypnotizes her to prick her finger on one of the many broken spindles in the castle dungeons.

Prince Phillip

Prince Phillip

Portrayed By: Brenton Thwaites (Maleficent), Harris Dickinson (Mistress of Evil)

A prince of a neighboring kingdom who encounters Aurora in the woods.

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• Adaptational Wimp: A lot less badass than the original, at least in the first film. The sequel has much more capable and badass, though he never gets to fight a giant dragon like the animated movie.
• Ascended Extra: He gets promoted back to a hero in Mistress of Evil, like the original film. His engagement to Aurora kickstarts the story and he gets to show some skill as a Warrior Prince.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Despite spending the climax of Mistress of Evil in a giant battle, he has nary a scratch on him.
• Butt-Monkey: It seems like every time Maleficent meets him, the first thing she does is sleep-hover him. She doesn't even bother asking him if he'll come with her to the castle, she just makes him fall asleep on his horse. Diaval has to maneuver him around the castle like a floating duffel bag. And then when he wakes up, he's berated and badgered by the fairy trio. In the second film, Maleficent is shown to dislike him and briefly considers turning him into a goat, not to mention his father is put under a sleeping curse and his mother betrays him. Things do come around for him toward the end, though.
• Demoted to Extra: While he was The Hero in the animated film, his role is much smaller in the live-action film. However, he gets much more screentime and relevance to the plot of the sequel.
• Distressed Dude: While he isn't ambushed and roped up like in the original, Maleficent still kidnaps him in an act of desperation so that he can break Aurora's curse.
• Dude, She's Like in a Coma: His reaction to the fairies pushing him to kiss a sleeping Aurora. Note that this is in an "are you freaking kidding me" sense, not a "sweet, I'm about to score" sense.
  Phillip: I wouldn't feel right about it. I barely know her. We've only met once.
• Friend to All Living Things: He is almost as beloved as Aurora by the Faries of the Moors, who all help to plan his proposal to their Queen.
• The Good King: Like his father before him, Phillip only wants peace with the Moors, and alongside his Queen, he and Aurora ensure that Fairies and Humans will be protected by the crown.
• Happily Married: To Aurora by the end of Mistress of Evil.
• Love at First Sight: While proposing to her, He admits he began falling in love with Aurora from the first moment he met her.
• Maybe Ever After: Despite his attempt at True Love's Kiss not working, the ending includes a shot of Phillip and Aurora smiling at each other, implying this trope. Word of God mentions that the only reason why Phillip's kiss didn't work was, like he mentioned, because he and Aurora had only just met, and has confirmed that Aurora and Phillip do indeed fall in love, just not rushed into one meeting like the original.
• Mr. Fanservice: His default shirt in Mistress of Evil has a deep V-cut, making his toned chest visible.
• Nice Guy: One of the few honest and morally-decent human beings in the entire story. He even outright expresses distress over having to kiss Aurora while she's unconscious because "I wouldn't feel right about it. I barely know her. We've only met once."
• No Sense of Direction: Seems to have this, as he gets lost trying to find his way to the giant castle in the distance. Though it is worth mentioning that said castle is surrounded by forest.
• Not So Above It All: In the second film, when Maleficent brings up missing fairies from the Moors, Phillip says that what he's missing is some wine.
• Pretty Boy: Portrayed as such.
• Prince Charming: As per tradition, he appears kind, gentle, and charming, although his personality is not explored as much. Mistress of Evil shows him to be very dedicated to the cause of peace between the two races and not afraid to rebel against his own mother to stop her schemes.
• Promoted to Love Interest: Inverted. His relationship with Aurora doesn't figure as much into the plot of this movie as it did in the original. For starters, the Perfectly Arranged Marriage aspect is removed, and his attempt at True Love's Kiss fails.
• Red Herring: The fairies and Diaval believe that his Love at First Sight for Aurora will suffice in breaking her curse. It doesn't, because as he points out, he's only met her once before and is being forced into the situation by the three fairies, leaving very little opportunity for the act to be out of "true love".
• Satellite Love Interest: In the first film, Phillip doesn't get much characterization beyond "that nice prince from the forest whom Aurora seems attracted to."
• Took a Level in Badass: Gains back some badassery in Mistress of Evil.
• True Love's Kiss: He delivers it, as in the Fairy Tale. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work out as planned.
• Warrior Prince: In Mistress of Evil, he gets to show some proficience with a sword, holding Borra at swordpoint to get him to stand down. Other than that, he is not afraid to go to battle with his own men to stop them from carrying out his mother's nefarious orders.

Characters introduced in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Queen Ingrith

Queen Ingrith

Portrayed By: Michelle Pfeiffer

The wife of King John and mother of Phillip, who clashes with Maleficent.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Implied at the end: even her husband John and her son Phillip prefer her to stay as a goat, as punishment for her crimes, which seem to have become known throughout the kingdom of Ulstead.
• Abusive Parents: To both her son Phillip and her future daughter-in-law Aurora. Despite acting otherwise, Ingrith has no love for either of them and is willing to hurt them physically and emotionally to get what she wants.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Has no problem harming her son, something her original counterpart did not do.
• Adapted Out: Lacks the cannibalism of her original source material, considering how darker it is for a Disney film.
• Ambition Is Evil: Though her main goal is to wipe out the Moors from existence, she also doesn't hesitate in getting her husband out of the picture so she can be in charge.
• Automatic Crossbows: She seems to favor the crossbow. When presented with an arsenal of iron weapons, she picks one and practices a bit with it. Also, at the climax, this is the weapon she uses to confront Maleficent personally.
• Ax-Crazy: Even as she keeps a calm demeanor when carrying out her atrocities, Ingrith shows herself to be nothing less than a murderous and tyrannical woman, driven by sheer hatred and lack of scruples.
• Badass Normal: Her power lies in her cunning and the soldiers at her command. She has no magical spells of any kind, yet her armies defeat many of the Dark Fey and she personally manages to kill Maleficent (though she comes back from her death). ^note Her armies do use weapons with magic-based products, but are manufactured by others, including a pixie who had his wings torn off and ordered to serve Ingrith.
• Beauty Is Bad: Incredibly beautiful, and as evil as they come.
• Big Bad: Of Mistress Of Evil. She seeks to murder all fairies and creatures from the Moors.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She acts very polite to Aurora in order to fool her. Even her own family is in the dark about her true nature. Aurora eventually learns the hard way that not only is Ingrith a terrible wife and mother, she's a genocidal warmonger.
• Canon Foreigner: Downplayed, Phillip doesn't have a mother in the original Disney version of "Sleeping Beauty", but the actual original story has a second arc with the Prince's mother being introduced as the main antagonist.
• Casting Gag: Pfeiffer had played Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in a 1999 film of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Dirty Coward: Her response to Maleficent resurrected as a phoenix? Throw Aurora off the tower as a diversion in order to make her escape, which is foiled by Borra.
• Does Not Like Men: Considers most of the men in her life to be "weak", due to being too trusting to the fairies.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Subverted. While her ill intentions are made clear in her first appearance, she displays some affection towards her family that is quickly revealed to be an act: husband cursed to sleep? She tells him to stay that way. Her own son? She tries to have him locked up so he won't interfere with her plans. The girl she wants to be her daughter-in-law? She tried to murder her by pushing her off a balcony. Ingrith cares only for herself in the end. Her dead brother is a doubtful case: She claims to hate all fairies and have them killed because he was killed by one, but Aurora doesn't believe her, and she never talks about him in an affectionate manner.
• Evil Is Petty: During the dinner scene, she "accidentally" lays the table with iron cutlery, forcing Maleficent to eat with her fingers, as iron burns fairies.
• Evil Plan: To slaughter all of the Moors and Dark Fey in a brutal war she orchestrated.
• Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: A regal and beautiful queen played by Michelle Pfeiffer who is monstrous and loathsome, as well as dangerous enough to threaten the existence of an entire race. On a personal level, she cares nothing about her family, despite posing as a good mother and wife.
• Fantastic Racism: Is openly wary and distrustful of all fairies, and seeks to drive a wedge between Maleficent and Aurora. She later attempts to exterminate all Moors.
• Faux Affably Evil: Her affable and queenly demeanor does nothing to hide her selfish and loathsome intentions. Ingrith is dripping with venom in her faux-polite remarks and actions to Maleficent during the dinner.
• Forced Transformation: At the end of the film, she doesn't die, but she does get turned into a goat by Maleficent as a consequence for her genocidal antics.
• Freudian Excuse: Or at least she claims to have one. According to her, her brother was murdered by a magical creature and the people overthrew her father for desiring peace between humans and fairies. However, not only does Aurora not sympathize with her, she outright doesn't believe Ingrith. But she could care less what the 'human traitor' believes, of course.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Apparently, Ingrith used to be the princess of an unknown kingdom trying to survive a harsh winter with her brother. She later becomes the queen of a bigger, more powerful nation and a tyrant who carries out an attempted genocide against the Moors.
• God Save Us from the Queen!: She is a genocidal warmonger. She is also the one who put the king to sleep so she could seize power for herself.
• Hate Sink: And how. Almost every trope here highlights what a despicable, selfish psycho she truly is.
• Hypocrite: In so many ways:
  • She talks as though fairies are incapable of affection or concern for others, and yet she throws Aurora off a tower to distract Maleficent to exploit her archenemy's human affection for the girl.
  • She talks of fairies as monsters and she is protecting the kingdom when her attacks are leveling parts of the city while some of those "monsters" save her own subjects.
  • She says the most important aspect to ruling humans is making sure they are in fear (either of you or of a scapegoat). She is terrified of Maleficent in phoenix form and pushes Aurora off the tower to protect herself, as well as putting her own people in danger.
• Irony: She says a curse upon King John is a curse upon the entire kingdom of Ulstead, yet near the end of the film, she comes around to stating she cursed John for the sake of Ulstead.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: She acts very haughty to Maleficent right off the bat, but seems to have a sympathetic side when she goes too far with her crassness and Maleficent snaps; she hides behind King John in terror, and seems heartbroken when he falls over from a curse. Later, it’s revealed that this was a ploy, and she was the one who cursed King John to get him out of the picture for her Evil Plan to annihilate the Moors.
• Juggling Cocked Crossbows: While admiring an arsenal of iron weapons, she picks up a crossbow and aims it around even after Gerda mentions it's cocked. When the trumpets announce Phillip is on his way in, she tosses it to Gerda and the bolt lodges itself in a statue nearby.
• Knight Templar Parent: She outright attempts to steal custody of Aurora from Maleficent, intending to become her only mother. Subverted in the climax, where she tries to murder Aurora, showing she never cared about her.
• Light Is Not Good: She's the human queen of Ulstead who actually wears a variety of white outfits, and is a genocidal and scheming tyrant who is willing to murder and betray anyone to get what she wants. A sharp contrast with Maleficent's menacing but ultimately good demeanor.
• Malicious Slander: She is the reason Maleficent still remains a Hero with Bad Publicity despite her breaking of the curse on Aurora: she spread the version of the story that omits this fact and portrays the fairy as an evil monster. In fact, it seems all versions of the story where Maleficent is the villain were based on Ingrith's propaganda.
• Named by the Adaptation: Her original incarnation is known simply as the Ogress Queen Mother, while in the Maleficent sequel, she is given the name Ingrith.
• A Nazi by Any Other Name: The blonde-haired, blue-eyed leader of a nation who despises another race and tries to kill them all. Of particular note is her order to round up some Moors inside a church and have them executed in a manner very reminiscent of concentration camp killings during The Holocaust.
• Norse by Norsewest: While her name can be Swedish or German, her kingdom name is Ulstead, which is very Swedish sounding. It is more likely that she is Swedish.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: She claims that her actions are for the sake of protecting Ulstead, but considering her actions include cursing her husband into an eternal sleep, locking up her own son, and endangering her subjects during her attack on the Dark Fey, it becomes clear that she does them to fulfill her own desires.
• Obviously Evil: It becomes obvious to the audience that she’s the Big Bad when her Establishing Character Moment involves her pointing a fucking crossbow at her husband with a sadistic look in her eyes.
• Oh, Crap!: Mixed with This Cannot Be!. After she kills Maleficent, she triumphantly announces that the people of Ulstead no longer have to live in fear and are free at last... before suddenly becoming confused when Maleficent's ashes start to magically rise. Confusion becomes outright terror when Maleficent is resurrected as a phoenix, and while she does momentarily manage to escape by creating a diversion, Borra and the other fairies corner her and toss her off a balcony.
• Plot Allergy: Partially fueling her hatred of the Moors, Ingrith is allergic to nature, and thus cannot invade the Moors herself, thus luring the Fairies to the castle to dispose of them.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Her staunch hatred of the Moors is what drive her entire scheme in the movie, which is to commit genocide against the fairies. But other than that, she is very dismissive and condescending towards Maleficent and refers to the fairy in her backstory as a beast who is unable to carry on a conversation.
• The Sociopath: She has no love for her own family, has no issue of any sort with committing murder or genocide, proves capable of faking affection, is Ax-Crazy, and has been shown to be excellent at lying and manipulating. While King Stefan from the first film suffered massive Adaptational Villainy compared to his animated counterpart, he at least genuinely cared about his daughter, regretted physically harming Maleficent at first, and didn't appear to harbor Fantastic Racism for fairies, whereas Ingrith doesn't even have those virtues.
• Til Murder Do Us Part: She curses John to the sleeping death, with the same spindle that cursed Aurora, to frame Maleficent, but also out of her utter contempt for him.
• Villain with Good Publicity: As the queen of Ulstead she is presumably respected by her subjects and her true intentions are well hidden from her family and Aurora through most of the story. Subverted at the end, where even King John prefers her to stay as a goat: her atrocities have probably become known through all the kingdom.
• Villainous Breakdown: As Maleficent comes back from her death as a phoenix, Ingrith can only cower in fear and resort to pushing Aurora out of the balcony to flee for her life. Her final moments in the film before being turned to a goat have her comically and powerlessy ranting at the fairies.
• White Hair, Black Heart: She has white-blonde hair, holds no affection for her own family, and enjoys committing genocide on magical creatures.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: When her caustic remarks drive Maleficent into a rage and towards using her magic inside the castle, Ingrith cowers in fear behind her husband, claiming to be very frightened. She was using the situation to stab King John with the spindle to curse him into sleep.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: She has an incredulous look on her face when Phillip suggests that she wake up John using true love's kiss.

King John

King John

Portrayed By: Robert Lindsay

Prince Phillip's father and the king of a neighboring Kingdom to Aurora's.

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• Adaptation Name Change: From Hubert in the original Sleeping Beauty to John.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's perfectly content (at least for the time being) with Ingrith staying as a goat for her crimes.
• Demoted to Extra: He may actually have more lines than Aurora and his Son in the original Animated Classic^note He and King Stefan have less screentime than Phillip. John appears in the First Act of the film, before being cursed to sleep by Ingrith and spends the rest of the film in a coma, until the very end of the movie.
• The Ghost: Is mentioned in Maleficent but doesn't appear until Mistress of Evil.
• The Good King: Unlike his wife, he wants peace with the Moors, and makes an honest attempt to foster good relations with Maleficent.
• Nice Guy: He is extremely kind towards Aurora and Maleficent, and is The Good King who wants peace with the Moors.

Conall

Conall

Portrayed By: Chiwetel Ejiofor

A male fairy who leads a band of exiled Dark Fey and advocates for peace between them and the humans.

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• Big Damn Heroes: His very first appearance in the story has him diving from the sky to save Maleficent from drowning. He also takes her to the Dark Fey's hiding spot.
• Black Dude Dies First: He’s the first of the Dark Fey to be killed by the humans, prompting the Fey to accept the war against them.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Even more so than Maleficent. He is a Dark Fey with black skin and hair who is one of the most moral and righteous characters in the film.
• Mr. Exposition: Most of his screentime has him detailing the current situation of the Dark Fey as well as giving some important information on Maleficent and their people's origins.
• Nice Guy: Conall saves Maleficent from death and is a noble and peaceful authority figure for the Dark Fey. He doesn't hate humans as a whole like Maleficent and Borra.
• Scary Black Man: Aside from being a Dark Fey, he is an imposing and dark skinned man. However, he's probably the nicest and most noble character in the entire movie besides Aurora, saving Maleficent from death and being fully dedicated to peace between his people and humans.
• Ship Tease: With Maleficent, but he dies before anything can happen.
• Taking the Bullet: For Maleficent.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: He's so hung up on peace that his death is almost unsurprising.

Borra

Borra

Portrayed By: Ed Skrein

A male fairy who argues for war against the humans.

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• Fan Disservice: Played by handsome, muscled Ed Skrein, and spends the entire film with his body exposed... so you can see the many wounds and scars all over his body from war with the humans.
• Heel–Face Turn: Though very antagonistic, if not exactly evil, Borra goes from a bloodthirsty and vengeful warrior promising to show "no mercy" in the war against humans to sparing his enemies and standing down due to agreeing with Phillip's views on peace between the two races.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: As it is common with many of the Dark Fey, Borra has a long hair, though he is less pretty and more rugged, due to being played by Ed Skrein.
• Macho Masochism: Shows the gathered dark fey the iron shot he pulled from Maleficent's wound by holding it between two fingers and letting it burn him all the while. At times during his rant, he seems to hold it up to his ear and listen to his fingers char.
• Nerves of Steel: When Philip holds a sword to his throat, steams rises from the point of contact, and it's presumably painful. But Borra doesn't look afraid at all.
• Ship Tease: With Maleficent, but ultimately nothing is confirmed between them. He gets very close to her face in their initial interactions and sees her as the key to succeed against humans.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He has a good reason to hate humans and advocates war against them. Subverted at the climax, where he stands down and agrees with Phillip to work for peace between the races.

Gerda

Gerda

Portrayed By: Jenn Murray

Queen Ingrith's head servant.

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• Adaptational Villainy: While no sources said this, it can be inferred that because of their similarities in roles, she can be a female equivalent and an evil and corrupt version of Lord Duke from the original Sleeping Beauty.
• All There in the Script: Her name is never spoken onscreen but can be found in the cast list.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Albeit less so than Queen Ingrith. She comes across as just your everyday royal advisor performing her duties, introducing Aurora and Maleficent in a formal manner. She's actually aiding Ingrith in carrying out her Evil Plan to murder all magical creatures, and is openly murderous and sadistic.
• Creepy Monotone: She talks this way at times, such as when presenting Aurora, Maleficent, and Diaval at the dinner table.
• Cold Ham: Stoic she may be, but she leaves quite an impression anyways, with her no-nonsense commanding towards Ingrith's soldiers and sadistic murdering of magical creatures trapped inside a chapel, playing the organ while doing so.
• Cute, but Cacophonic: Gerda's short and fairly pretty, but she very loudly directs the fairies to come to the wedding through the large ear-trumpet-like loudspeakers.
• Dark Action Girl: She's the only visible woman among Ulstead's troops, and is the queen's right hand soldier.
• Dark Is Evil: Unlike Queen Ingrith, she does wear dark clothing.
• Didn't Think This Through: Her refusal to just repeatedly press the key that releases the iron bombs and instead play a melody to extend the Moors’ suffering goes horribly wrong for her.
• Disney Villain Death: She tries to climb up the organ to unplug the pipes, leaving her with unsteady footing, and then slips and falls while trying to swat at Thistlewit and Knotgrass. It's from a height that won't guarantee death and we never see her hit the ground, but her rotation seems to imply a headfirst landing. If she does survive, she doesn't make an appearance afterwards and what becomes of her is unknown.
• The Dragon: She serves as the queen's personal enforcer and has the highest personal bodycount, including shooting down Maleficent and Diaval, killing Conall, and massacring many of the fairies with the rigged organ.
• Evil Redhead: Gerda's visually distinguished from all the other soldiers by her bright red hair.
• Fantastic Racism: Implied early on by her lack of qualms in assisting in Ingirth’s Evil Plan, her anger when informing Ingrith of the figure that rescued Maleficent from Gerda’s attack resembling her, and later her aggression when addressing the Moors to attend Aurora and Philip’s wedding. It’s even more obvious at the end when she remorselessly holocausts the Moors in the church.
• Fiery Redhead: Averted. Gerda is a stoic and borderline emotionless woman. Her only display of excitement in the movie is a streak of sadism as she murders some Moors inside the church.
• Hate Sink: She is just as sadistic and evil as Ingrith, taking joy in killing the fairies and having no sympathetic qualities at all.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: She manages to shoot Maleficent out of the sky with a single iron bullet on the first try despite her having flown rather far.
• Karmic Death: If she did in fact die from her fall when Knotgrass and Thistlewit throw her over, then it is a very fitting end for her after she killed all their friends and their sister trapped inside with the organ and displayed clear sadism while doing so.
• Not So Stoic: She's very straight-faced for most of the film up until Knotgrass and Thistlewhit attack her, she whimpers and flails her arms before screaming during her Disney Villain Death fall.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Her reaction when she sees something else dive towards the falls Maleficent fell over and then rise up with her in his arms.
    Ingrith: What did it look like?
    Gerda: Her.
  • She has another moment of this when Knotgrass and Thistlewit attack her and cause her to not only fall off the organ, but the balcony she's on as well, screaming during the fall.
• Sadist: She gleefully slaughters the fairies trapped in the chapel and plays the organ while doing so.
• Vile Villain, Laughable Lackey: Averted. Queen Ingrith is extremely dangerous and threatening, but Gerda proves to be incredibly competent as well, and has zero comedic moments.
• Villain Ball: She plays a melody while massacring the Moors for no other reason than to extend their suffering. This also allows Flittle to sacrifice herself to stop the organ from working, thus overturning Gerda's genocide.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: She never appears again, or is even briefly mentioned, after she falls from the balcony in the church.

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