Sleeping Beauty saw Maleficent’s defeat at the end at the hands of Prince Phillip, but one wild Disney theory explains she survived this and got way stronger than she already was. Disney is home to many animated movies, mostly based on fairy tales, and among them is Sleeping Beauty. Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wolfgang Reitherman, Eric Larson, and Les Clark, and based on Charles Perrault’s 1697 fairy tale of the same name, Sleeping Beauty was released in 1959, and though it initially received mixed reviews and was a box-office bomb, it’s now one of Disney’s most beloved classics.
Sleeping Beauty took viewers to a faraway kingdom to meet King Stefan and Queen Leah as they celebrated the christening of their baby daughter, Aurora. Angry after not receiving an invitation, Maleficent cursed the baby Princess to die from a prick from the spindle of a spinning wheel when she turned 16. Despite the efforts of the good faeries to keep Aurora safe, Maleficent’s plan was fulfilled, but thanks to Merryweather’s gift to Aurora, she fell into a deep sleep instead of dying, and true love’s kiss could break the spell. Unsurprisingly, the prince defeated Maleficent in the end, but she might not have died.
A theory gives some needed background story to Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent, making her a villain to root for who had good reasons to curse Aurora.
Disney Theory Explains Maleficent Is Sealed In The Sword At The End Of Sleeping Beauty
Maleficent Didn’t Die At The End Of Sleeping Beauty
Maleficent was an evil fairy and a very powerful one, even more than Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. Although the fairies kept Aurora safe since she was a baby, on her 16th birthday they momentarily left her alone in a castle room, an opportunity that Maleficent seized. In the form of a will-o-the-wisp, Maleficent lured Aurora to the tower room, where she pricked her finger. To ensure that Aurora wouldn’t wake up, Maleficent had her goons capture Prince Phillip, but the fairies rescued him and helped him get to Aurora.
Maleficent as a dragon fell off the cliff, leaving what looked like her cloak and the sword on the floor.
Maleficent tried to stop him by blasting lightning and summoning a forest of thorns, but the fairies armed Phillip with the magical Sword of Truth and the Shield of Virtue. Outraged, Maleficent turned into a giant, fire-breathing dragon and confronted Phillip outside the castle. The fairies further enhanced the Sword’s enchantment so Phillip could defeat Maleficent, which he did by throwing the Sword into her heart. Maleficent as a dragon fell off the cliff, leaving what looked like her cloak and the Sword on the floor.
However, this might point to Maleficent’s survival, though in an unexpected way. A theory (via TV Tropes) suggests that Maleficent didn’t die when the Sword impaled her heart, and instead, she used what was left of her strength and magic to transform herself into energy while her physical body disappeared. This is why there wasn’t a body – neither human nor dragon – when she fell off the cliff and why the Sword turned black. The theory adds that Maleficent sealed herself in the Sword, so she not only survived her battle with Prince Phillip but became a lot more powerful.
Maleficent’s Survival Through The Sword Leaves A Huge Question About Her Revenge
If Maleficent Survived, Her Actions After Sleeping Beauty Are Confusing
The theory claims Maleficent caused the Black Plague and the Hundred Years War to get revenge on Phillip and Aurora, now King and Queen.
As an extension to the theory above, another one suggests Maleficent triggered some terrible events after Sleeping Beauty. Now as dark energy contained in the Sword and no longer stopped by the boundaries and weaknesses of a physical body, Maleficent could leave the Sword and create chaos as she pleased, though she always returned to it, similarly to the Genies and the lamps in the world of Aladdin. The theory, then, claims Maleficent caused the Black Plague and the Hundred Years War to get revenge on Phillip and Aurora, now King and Queen.
While these events could fit with Maleficent’s powers and actions, it raises many questions about her revenge plan. If she was now more powerful and free as a dark, evil energy, Maleficent could have gotten her revenge by directly targeting Phillip, Aurora, her parents, and the fairies, instead of targeting the whole kingdom. Of course, this would also have been punishment for Phillip and Aurora, who would have seen their people die and suffer, but Maleficent would have been more direct in her revenge.
How This Theory Changes Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (& Maleficent’s Legacy)
The Theory Is Greatly Beneficial To Maleficent
Her survival as suggested by the theory would make her a lot more powerful and more dangerous, as she wouldn’t need a physical body to continue spreading evil.
Maleficent is one of Disney’s most popular villains, also seen as one of the evilest ones, as she went as far as to curse a baby just because her parents didn’t invite her to the christening. Maleficent is known as a powerful fairy, and though she shows her power in the third act of Sleeping Beauty, it doesn’t really match her reputation as a powerful, evil, dark fairy. Her survival as suggested by the theory would make her a lot more powerful and more dangerous, as she wouldn’t need a physical body to continue spreading evil.
The theory raises the question of what happened to the Sword, but as the fairies gave it to Phillip, they likely took it with them, meaning that they were now in possession of Maleficent herself, whether they knew it or not. The theory also implies that Maleficent could be immortal as long as the Sword wasn’t destroyed, making her one of the longest-lasting Disney villains ever.