Maleficent ( or ) is a 2014 American epic dark fantasy film directed by Robert Stromberg from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton and starring Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Hannah New, Kenneth Cranham, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville. The film is a live-action re-imagining of Walt Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty, portraying the story from the perspective of the antagonist, Maleficent.