Two Female Main Antagonists, Same Voice Actress
While Kathryn Beaumont was one actor who voiced two heroines in two different Disney films, Eleanor Audley was another actress who did the same thing, only in her case, it was two different villains: Lady Tremaine, the main antagonist of Cinderella, and Maleficent, the main antagonist of Sleeping Beauty. In fact, it was because of her chilling vocal performance as Lady Tremaine that Audley was chosen to play Maleficent, since Disney wanted a powerful voice for someone as evil as Maleficent. And like Beaumont, Audley was the physical model for her characters, too.
Besides being the main antagonists in their respective films and ones to have the same voice actress (they are probably the only main Disney villains who do), Lady Tremaine and Maleficent have a few other things in common:
- Both are villains of Disney Princess films
- Both are cruel, sinister, cunning, manipulative, ruthless, devious women who enjoy taunting their enemies
- Both hold a noble title or a high form of status, with the title of "Lady" being present in Lady Tremaine's name, and Maleficent having been addressed as "Your Excellency"
- Both seek to ruin the lives of their main, female enemies
- Both have loyal pets (Lady Tremaine has Lucifer, while Maleficent has her raven, Diablo) who are colored black, have names that associate with the devil (Lucifer is the name of the fallen angel who became Satan, while "Diablo" is Spanish for "devil"), and are the only ones to whom they show affection
And then the two villains have some significant differences:
- Lady Tremaine is a normal human being who does not exert physical force, while Maleficent is magical and uses her powers to harm others
- Lady Tremaine is a mother of two daughters, who act as her allies, while Maleficent has allies in her goons
- Lady Tremaine's evil demeanor is motivated purely because she is jealous of Cinderella's beauty and charm, while Maleficent has no real motivation for her evil behavior
- Lady Tremaine believes in maintaining grace and self-control, so she seldom raises her voice, while Maleficent flies into rages and yells when angered
- Lady Tremaine interacts a great deal with Cinderella during her film, while Maleficent has no direct contact or interaction with Aurora
- Lady Tremaine's final defeat is her shock at seeing that Cinderella has the other slipper, while Maleficent is killed by Phillip
- Lady Tremaine is one of the most hated Disney villains, while Maleficent is one of Disney's most popular villains