DVD Review: ‘Maleficent’ worth owning, but extras are lacking

MALEFICENT

By Matt Roseboom

Disney’s live action Maleficent movie staring Angelina Jolie is now available on DVD. For my thoughts on the movie itself, see my previous movie review, “‘Maleficent’ is not the tale you know, but it’s an awesome one”. As you can tell from the headline, I really enjoyed the movie. But let’s take a look at the home movie extras.

A sticker on the front of my copy of the DVD says it has tons of extras. I don’t agree. Although the extras are enjoyable and well done, each one isn’t very long. Here’s what you’ll get:

maleficent dvd coverFrom Fairy Tale to Feature Film – Reimagining Maleficent for a new generation
Building An Epic Battle – Creating the clash between Maleficent and King Henry’s Forces
Classic Couture – Examine Maleficent’s spellbinding head wraps and jewelry.
Maleficent Revealed – Explore the layers of extraordinary special effects.
Aurora: Becoming A Beauty – Elle Fanning reveals her lifelong love of Disney’s original animated classic.

Deleted Scenes:
“Stefan In King’s Chamber”
“Pixie Idiots”
“Diaval asks about the Curse”
“Pixies Seek Asylum”
“Suitor”

Each of the extras are short, ranging from one to eight minutes with an average of five. The deleted scenes are even shorter. Most of the extras are very interesting, that’s why I was longing for more. If you’ve seen any of the behind the scenes clips that were posted online when the movie came out, you’ve already seen some of these extras. There are interviews with some of the actors and crew, but I would have liked to have heard from all of the main actors in the movie. I also would have loved to have seen some bloopers.

I recommend you buy the movie, not for the extras, but for the movie itself. It’s available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD, Disney Movies Anywhere and On-Demand platforms. Even though the movie was available in 3D in theaters, it’s not available on 3D Blu-Ray. All of the extras are available on most of the options including Disney Movies Anywhere and iTunes. But the regular DVD only has the “Becoming A Beauty” feature. There’s no in movie commentary, but audio is available in English, Spanish, French and English Captions for the hearing impaired.

For our own bit of movie extras, here’s Angelina Jolie talking about the movie at the D23 Expo before the movie was released:

"Maleficent" star Angelina Jolie discusses the new movie and Disney at the D23 Expo 2013

During the Rock your Disney Side event at Magic Kingdom, a few lucky guests got to meet the live-action movie version of Maleficent:

Movie Maleficent meets lucky guests at Rock Your Disney Side 24-hour event

For comparison, here’s a look at the animated version, who can be seen in the parks on occasion, especially during Halloween:

Maleficent meets fans at Unleash the Villains at Disney's Hollywood Studios

You can see this steampunk dragon version of Maleficent daily in the Festival of Fantasy Parade at Magic Kingdom:

Fire-breathing Maleficent Steampunk Dragon in Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
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One Comment

  1. Disney isn’t really known for excellent life action movies and this one is right up there with it’s mediocrity. When the best thing is your CGI you know you are not in for a great movie. This story tries a twist that reveals the plot and the predictable end in it’s first 5 minutes. The journey isn’t pleasant and unsatisfying, no CGI can help that. On top of that the actors are underused and direction and cinematography are subpar at best.
    If you like this movie, go out and buy The Haunted Mansion and POTC 2 and 3, you will probably love them to.