Disney has piles of money and can produce any movie they want to. They have their pick of a million different properties that might delight parents and children alike. Why they feel the need to retell the same stories over and over again, repackaged as all new, I'll never know, but this is the retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story from the perspective of the Wicked Witch.
This movie takes CG to where it has been many times before - butting in where it doesn't belong. Rather than using forced perspective on wider shots, someone decided that it would be a good idea to CG the three fairy godmothers when they were small (they get bigger - don't ask). As a result, they don't look magical as little fairies, they look like tiny little CG imaginings with unusually stiff faces and oddly proportioned bodies.
Maleficent herself suffers from CGness every time she takes to the skies. The CG wings aren't enough - it used to be that you would fake the wings with the computer and have the person move their body as if they were flying. The effect wasn't spectacular, but I'm not sure entirely CG bodies is the way to go. Also, what's the deal with the CG cheekbones you could cut yourself on? Angelina Jolie has great cheekbones you could probably have just highlighted.
Elle Fanning is the sister of Dakota Fanning and she plays the princess who will eventually be Sleeping Beauty. She's not the only one who plays the young girl, though, and one of the versions of SB is notably the daughter of Angelina and Brad Pitt. Elle does a pretty good job with her role - she's a teenaged girl playing a teenaged girl.
From a storytelling perspective, it seems like a good kids' movie. It has a flawed villain who is also somewhat the hero, the girl who is generally blameless, the tortured parents, and the goofy godmothers who exist only to ensure that there is a bit of comic relief.
Direction was good
Acting was good
Effects were okay
Story was compelling
Dialogue was pretty good
3.0/5