Jolie girl to appear opposite mom in film

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The 4-year-old daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will make her film debut in Walt Disney Pictures' Sleeping Beauty fantasy "Maleficent," the studio says.

Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, named after Jolie's mother, will play Princess Aurora as a child opposite her mother, who has the title role of the evil Queen Maleficent, "Mistress of All Evil," who, after not being invited to the baby's christening, curses Aurora to "prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die" before the sun sets on her 16th birthday.

The teen role of Aurora is to be played by 14-year-old Elle Fanning.

"The live-action film explores the origins of Disney's most iconic villain, Maleficent, and what led her to curse Princess Aurora in Disney's animated classic 'Sleeping Beauty,'" a statement from the studio says.

"Maleficent," which started filming June 18, focuses on the Sleeping Beauty story -- originated by 17th-century French author Charles Perrault, whose tales also included "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella" and "Puss in Boots."

But the film tells the story from the perspective of the villainous Maleficent.

It is scheduled for release March 14, 2014.