There's a big problem with Angelina Jolie's upcoming Maleficent that Disney seems to be completely unaware of. Yes, the new trailer completely captured our attention during the Grammys on Sunday, but it forgot one kind of important thing — the title. Obviously the trailer visually shows the title of the movie, but no one ever says it out loud. That's an issue when the name of the movie isn't exactly part of the common vernacular. Does Disney not realize that the average person isn't on a first-name basis with the villain from Sleeping Beauty? How do you pronounce Maleficent, Disney?
Don't worry, I'm going to help you. Someone has to, especially since the name is never uttered in the first trailer either. Maleficent. Let's break it down.
Mal—as in bad, rhymes with "pal."
Ef—as in "if." This part is especially tricky because it looks like it's spelled wrong and I have heard it pronounced "eff" occasionally, but "if" seems to be more common and correct.
i—as in "if" again, but just the i.
cent—goes completely against your instinct and rhymes with "stint" instead of being the actual word "cent."
Put them together and you have Maleficent. In case that breakdown was difficult to understand, below is a video supercut of video game characters saying it.
And if all else fails, when you get to the movie theater just say "Hi, one ticket for Mal—[mumble] please." They'll figure it out.
Image: Disney
