I'd say the main problem with Maleficent's (& Ursula's for that matter) defeat is how relatively easy they go down.
They have powerful magic at their disposal, but are killed through a direct & rather unsatisfactory fight (though I'll give props to Prince Eric for having the seamanship to steer a ship in a massive whirlpool into Ursula's gut).
I see what you mean and agree from that perspective, but on the other hand, personally I find this sort of defeat satisfying in a different way, because it proves that for all the power they possessed they were still just chunks of meat like the rest of us, and often it was their arrogance/hubris that brought them down, as much as anything else. Yeah, that's closer to being an overused trope, but I still like the irony and message of something so awesomely powerful being brought down by something so mundane. The evil and harm was what they had done earlier, while getting what they wanted near the end (at least in the case of Ursula) only resulted in a swift, embarrassing death.
Lady Tremaine's defeat was so satisfying because few if any saw it coming in this case, and when it did it was like BAM you lose! Only recently have there been twists this good, in their own ways, in Disney animated features, and I'm thinking specifically of
Tangled when Eugene cut Rapunzel's hair and
Frozen when Anna saved herself instead of being saved, but despite being more meaningful none of them are as immediately and viscerally satisfying as Cinderella pulling out the other slipper (so simple and understated yet so impactful--just ask Lady Tremaine ). It was definitely her "Moment of Awesome."
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furienna
9 years ago
I see what you mean and agree from that perspective, but on the other hand, personally I find this sort of defeat satisfying in a different way, because it proves that for all the power they possessed they were still just chunks of meat like the rest of us, and often it was their arrogance/hubris that brought them down, as much as anything else. Yeah, that's closer to being an overused trope, but I still like the irony and message of something so awesomely powerful being brought down by something so mundane. The evil and harm was what they had done earlier, while getting what they wanted near the end (at least in the case of Ursula) only resulted in a swift, embarrassing death.
Well said!
Intelligence and purity.
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