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Maleficent (film)

2014 film directed by Robert Stromberg

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 4, 2026
Entity authorityQ172271 ↗
Source-derived summary

Maleficent is a 2014 American fantasy film starring Angelina Jolie as the title character in a live-action retelling of her villainous role in Walt Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty, itself an adaptation of the 1697 fairy tale. The film was directed by Robert Stromberg and written by Linda Woolverton. It also stars Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville.

Maleficent was originally developed as an animated project in 2003, before it was changed to a live-action feature in 2006, following Disney's acquisition of Pixar. Tim Burton was originally attached to direct the film, but was replaced by Stromberg in his directorial debut. Jolie signed on to play the title role in January 2012 and also served as the film's executive producer. The rest of the main cast joined between March and May 2012. Principal photography took place at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England, from June to October 2012.

Maleficent premiered in El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on May 28, 2014, and was released in the United States theatrically on May 30 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a commercial success, grossing over $758 million worldwide and becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2014.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Maleficent (film)” as 2014 film directed by Robert Stromberg. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Maleficent, film and directed.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2014, 1959, 1697, 2003—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—2014-05-30, 2014-05-29, 2014-06-05, 2014-05-28—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Maleficent, film and directed providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Maleficent (film)”, the useful work is to connect “2014 film directed by Robert Stromberg” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q172271. 6 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 5 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2014, 1959, 1697 and 2003.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Maleficent (film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Maleficent (film) primary sources, Maleficent (film) archive and Maleficent research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Maleficent (film)”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Maleficent (film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.