Maleficent (NC)

(The 2018 NC opening plays, before showing NC in his room)

NC: Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to. And welcome to the Disney Live-Action Remake Month.

(For the intro, we are shown the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty, then we are shown the live-action fairies from this film. A chorus is heard singing the Disney logo theme, becoming freaked out halfway when we are shown the live-action fairies. The logo "Disney Live-Action Remake Month" is shown with a half-and-half picture of the Walt Disney Pictures castle, both the original and the current)

NC: Disney likes profitable faces, doesn't it?

(Two images of Disney's Pinocchio are shown, while also showing images of various Disney Channel movies, Disney direct-to-DVD sequels, the Marvel logo, an image of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the 20th Century Fox logo)

NC (vo): Don't get me wrong. Some of the most timeless characters have made money for years, but they also like to focus on what's popular for the moment. Whether it be Disney Channel Original Movies, DVD sequels, or buying what you thought for a second wasn't theirs, they finally asked the question, "What if they combined their timeless stories still making money with their search for fads still making money?" (Images of The Return of Jafar, Pocahontas II, Mulan II, Cinderella II, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, and The Little Mermaid II are shown) And with less creative effort.

NC: Hey, they had to continue those timeless stories that already made the money. What if they just told them again? (An image of a D23 Expo event announcing several live-action Disney remakes is shown with a "Ding!" sound, before showing several posters of those movies)

NC (vo): Now we're cooking! The Disney live-action remakes, for the most part, have turned in a huge profit, so much so that at the time this video's released, at least 12 other Disney stories are in the process of being remade. It's like Groundhog Day, except instead of you becoming a better person, the world is becoming continually worse.

NC: And one of their earliest hits was Maleficent.

(The film's title is shown, before showing various clips)

NC (vo): Starring Angelina Jolie, this was supposed to do the villain of Sleeping Beauty what Wicked did for the villain of The Wizard of Oz.

NC: Hey, Disney is already ripping itself off enough. (The poster for the original Sleeping Beauty, as well as a poster for Wicked, is shown) Why not steal from other sources?

NC (vo): The idea of telling a fairy tale from a different point of view is nothing different, but the advertising for this movie made it look like you were going to be rooting for the bad guy, like, "Oh, it feels so good to be so bad! Let's root for that anti-hero!" And seeing how Maleficent is easily one of Disney's best villains, this could kind of be cool. What we got is...

(We are shown a scene of the three fairies engaging in a petty fight with each other)

NC: ...not cool.

NC (vo): Is it possible, though, that just like the lead, this is all a misunderstanding and I should look closer to find something of worth?

NC: Do all crows secretly have a cool, styling, emo stuffing inside of them?

(The character of Divial is shown, with an audio clip of Mr. Freeze from Batman & Robin)

Mr. Freeze: Stay cool, bird-boy!

NC: Let's take a look at Maleficent.