On the second day of the Disney D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center, Saturday, 10 August 2013, Angelina Jolie admitted that she scared little kids while in costume on the set of Maleficent, with one kid actually saying, "Mommy, please get the mean witch to stop talking to me." She adds that her daughter, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, who played young Aurora, was the only child who was not scared of her.
Angelina Jolie worked very closely with the costume and make-up designers to develop Maleficent's menacing look. Disney executives objected, hoping to take advantage of Jolie's beauty in marketing the film, but the actress insisted that the character maintain the scarier look of the animated incarnation from La bella durmiente (1959).
Angelina Jolie based her character's speech and accent in homage of the original La bella durmiente (1959)'s Maleficent voice actor Eleanor Audley. Her laughter in the film was also based on the best variation she tried in front of her children and chosen by them.
Pax Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt: Angelina Jolie's children appear briefly, cowering in fear of Maleficent during the christening scene.