Amber Samsel: The Paradox of the Hero's Journey in Maleficent (Req. 1) - Blog 4

During one of our class periods, we mentioned some classic Disney stories to bring into our discussion on the Hero's Journey, and it got me thinking- what about the villains? Do they go through a "heroic" journey of their own? 

Then I started thinking back to some of my favorite shows and movies as a kid and I thought of "Once Upon a Time" which was a super long show (that I love to this day), and ultimately to my favorite villain- Maleficent. But I did not like the OUAT version of her, I prefer the Angelina Jolie adaptation. So then I thought about if it was possible to apply the "Hero's Journey" to a "villain." Obviously, in the Angelina Jolie version, Maleficent is meant to be the protagonist because there is always more than one side to a story, so it is interesting how the villain can go through a journey of their own as well.

Now, I do not think there is an easy way to apply the hero's journey to Maleficent before she curses Aurora, BUT I think there is a way for the aftermath - at least if we are going along with Angelina Jolie. Maleficent's call to adventure would be when young Aurora sees her in the woods and is not afraid of her. She of course refuses the child because she supposedly hates the girl for what her father did, but eventually Maleficent's bird, Diablo, acts as a supernatural aid in a way because he convinces her to lighten up towards the child, which she eventually does. This sends her over the first threshold, which I think would be when Aurora is old enough to talk and says that she knew Maleficent had been stalking her and she assumed that meant that she was her Fairy Godmother. Now Maleficent is in the whale's belly because she eventually keeps contact with Aurora. Fast forward to when Aurora is approaching her 18th birthday, suddenly Maleficent has many trials that she has to go through to try to reverse the curse and get her wings back before Aurora pricks her finger on the spinning wheel. Eventually, at the end of the movie, she does get her wings back, and breaks the curse by planting her own kiss on Aurora's forehead. Then maleficent is able to return home to the forest where she restores the forest to its former glory and takes a magic flight with her restored wings. 

When people are reading a story, oftentimes they will not think about the villain's perspective in the first go-around. So I thought it would be interesting to see them in their own journey. But, it is still kind of a paradox isn't it? I know I rushed my explanation for Maleficent, but is there any villain you cannot apply this to? The concept of the "villain" is meant to be the opposite of the hero, and yet the villains are the heroes in their own story, so does that mean there are no villains? Or are there no heroes? 

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