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The Wicked Witch Is Dead: The Double-Bind of the Villainess's Backstory | Features | Roger Ebert

RogerEbert.com
film
opinion
box office
disney
Story by Alisha Mughal
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Hollywood revamps villainesses' backstories, exploring the double-edged sword of humanizing iconic antagonists and the pitfalls of 'girlboss feminism' in classic tales.
beat sheet
  • Filmmaker Angelina Jolie was intentional about the rape allegory in 'Maleficent,' saying the film's core is 'abuse, and how the abused have a choice of abusing others or overcoming and remaining loving, open people'.
  • 'Cruella' is indicative of the very culture it pretends to critique, with the central character being a 'girl boss pretending to fight against the powers that be' who merely seeks to 'become the Establishment' rather than truly overthrow it.
call sheet
Gregory Maguire, Victor Fleming, L. Frank Baum, Stephen Schwartz, Don Hahn, Angelina Jolie, Emma Stone, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jon M. Chu, Carol J. Clover, Craig Gillespie, Angelica Jade Bastién, Keir-La Janisse, Margaret Hamilton, Disney, Wizard of Oz, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, 101 Dalmatians, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked, Maleficent, Cruella, Wicked: Part I
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