VILLAIN OF THE DAY: MALEFICENT !

Today's "Villain of the Day" is MALEFICENT!!

What a name!! Let's here that again - "MAL-EF-I-CENT" ooooh, that's good. "Maleficent" is a Latin-derived word meaning harmful or evil. It is a cognate of the words "malice", "magnificent", "malevolent", and "malefic." Learning is fun!

Maleficent is the classic Disney villain: imposing, serious, gothic, terrifying, and lacking any of the occasional goofiness seen in some later Disney villians; this she may very well be the most terrifying of Disney's many "evil" characters. An almost archetype personification of evil, she is responsible for "all misfortune that befalls King Stefan's kingdom."

Maleficient also possesses a range of magical powers and artifacts, which allow her to--for example--use the crystal ball on her staff to taunt Prince Philip with images of a bleak future, like the state of Disney in the 90s & early Tweens. She also casts spells, such as inflicting Aurora with a curse of death, creating thunderstorms, projecting lightning, teleporting, and changing shapes.

Maleficent is just brilliantly designed; the long black cloack, the wicked horns cap, the long boney featrues.... and the eerie green flames which often surrounded her. Of the four fairies who appear in Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent is the most powerful, capable of utilizing her magic without any reservation and even summoning the powers of Hell to back her. Her pet raven, Diablo, and her army of inept goblin henchmen carried out most of her orders for her.

Plus, she turns into a wickedly rad black dragon, thereby easily being the best Disney villain of all time (except for maybe Michael Eisner, but he doesn't have a whitty name).

With a deep and commanding voice, Maleficent is heard echoing throughout the halls of her castle!

"Now shall you deal with me, oh prince, and all the powers of Hell!"