Maleficent
Maleficent
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Watch-outs
What this film brings
Content barometer
Violence
3/5
Notable
Fear
3/5
Notable tension
Sexuality
1/5
Allusions
Language
0/5
None
Narrative complexity
1/5
Accessible
Adult themes
0/5
None
Expert review
Maleficent is a live action retelling of a familiar fairy tale, with a dark fantasy atmosphere, unusual magical creatures, and several clashes between the human kingdom and an enchanted land. The main sensitive elements involve a deeply upsetting betrayal, a symbolically intense mutilation scene, battle sequences with weapons, credible threats of death, and a mood that can feel ominous for younger children. The overall intensity is moderate to fairly strong in places, without gore or explicit sexual content, but the emotional darkness appears regularly and may affect children more than the action itself. The film is still designed for a broad family audience, yet its heavier tone than many Disney titles usually makes it a better fit from about age 10 with support, especially for children who are sensitive to injustice, loss, or frightening authority figures. Parents may want to frame the story as one about hurt, anger, and healing, then talk afterward about the harsher scenes so children can separate fantasy imagery from real world fears and emotions.
Synopsis
A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. She rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her heart into stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading King's successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and to Maleficent's true happiness as well.
Difficult scenes
The most sensitive moment comes when Maleficent reunites with a childhood friend she fully trusts. He drugs her, then cuts off her wings while she sleeps in order to advance his ambitions, and the scene then shows her waking in intense pain and shock. There is no graphic gore, but the force of the betrayal and the symbolic mutilation can be very upsetting for a child, especially one who reacts strongly to injustice or loss. Several battle sequences pit human soldiers against the magical beings of the Moors. Children will see weapons, coordinated attacks, characters thrown or captured, and a king seriously wounded during an important confrontation. The presentation stays fantastical and stylized, but the danger feels real enough that children who are uneasy with warlike conflict may find these scenes tense. The curse placed on a baby is another notable concern, because it is built around the idea of harming an innocent child in order to punish her father. Even though the scene is not graphic, the concept of a deadly spell tied to the princess's birthday can linger in the minds of younger viewers. The threat also feels stronger because it comes from a powerful adult figure driven by emotional pain and revenge. Throughout the film, the mood remains darker than a light family fairy tale, with an anxious castle, a king consumed by fear, and a main character shaped by anger and grief. Some children will respond less to the action than to this emotional heaviness, the crying, the sense of abandonment, and the moral hardening of the central character. This emotional weight returns often across the story, not only during the action scenes.
Where to watch
No verified platform for the US market yet. We keep this section updated as availability changes.
Availability checked on Apr 01, 2026
About this title
- Format
- Feature film
- Year
- 2014
- Runtime
- 1h 37m
- Countries
- United States of America
- Original language
- EN
- Directed by
- Robert Stromberg
- Main cast
- Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Imelda Staunton, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Juno Temple, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Kenneth Cranham, Sarah Flind
- Studios
- Walt Disney Pictures, Roth Films
Content barometer
Violence
3/5
Notable
Fear
3/5
Notable tension
Sexuality
1/5
Allusions
Language
0/5
None
Narrative complexity
1/5
Accessible
Adult themes
0/5
None
Expert review
Maleficent is a live action retelling of a familiar fairy tale, with a dark fantasy atmosphere, unusual magical creatures, and several clashes between the human kingdom and an enchanted land. The main sensitive elements involve a deeply upsetting betrayal, a symbolically intense mutilation scene, battle sequences with weapons, credible threats of death, and a mood that can feel ominous for younger children. The overall intensity is moderate to fairly strong in places, without gore or explicit sexual content, but the emotional darkness appears regularly and may affect children more than the action itself. The film is still designed for a broad family audience, yet its heavier tone than many Disney titles usually makes it a better fit from about age 10 with support, especially for children who are sensitive to injustice, loss, or frightening authority figures. Parents may want to frame the story as one about hurt, anger, and healing, then talk afterward about the harsher scenes so children can separate fantasy imagery from real world fears and emotions.
Synopsis
A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. She rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her heart into stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading King's successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and to Maleficent's true happiness as well.
Difficult scenes
The most sensitive moment comes when Maleficent reunites with a childhood friend she fully trusts. He drugs her, then cuts off her wings while she sleeps in order to advance his ambitions, and the scene then shows her waking in intense pain and shock. There is no graphic gore, but the force of the betrayal and the symbolic mutilation can be very upsetting for a child, especially one who reacts strongly to injustice or loss. Several battle sequences pit human soldiers against the magical beings of the Moors. Children will see weapons, coordinated attacks, characters thrown or captured, and a king seriously wounded during an important confrontation. The presentation stays fantastical and stylized, but the danger feels real enough that children who are uneasy with warlike conflict may find these scenes tense. The curse placed on a baby is another notable concern, because it is built around the idea of harming an innocent child in order to punish her father. Even though the scene is not graphic, the concept of a deadly spell tied to the princess's birthday can linger in the minds of younger viewers. The threat also feels stronger because it comes from a powerful adult figure driven by emotional pain and revenge. Throughout the film, the mood remains darker than a light family fairy tale, with an anxious castle, a king consumed by fear, and a main character shaped by anger and grief. Some children will respond less to the action than to this emotional heaviness, the crying, the sense of abandonment, and the moral hardening of the central character. This emotional weight returns often across the story, not only during the action scenes.