Movie There’s something to be said for giving even tiny tykes a good, old fashioned fright all in the name of good clean fun. But Disney’s “Maleficent” still feels like a sour miscalculation on somebody’s part.

A dark, gloomy and quite violent riff on the “Sleeping Beauty” fairytale, this time seen through the eyes of the evil fairy who put this Beauty under a curse, it’s a lovely-looking thing with most of the joy left out.

In short, it’s the sort of movie we often get when somebody decides to promote a filmmaker from the visual effects ranks into the director’s chair. The 3D wonderland created here has the texture and tone of time-worn three strip Technicolor films from Hollywood’s Golden Age — think “The Wizard of Oz” or “Gone With the Wind.” But effects guru turned director Robert Stromberg rarely breathes life into the dazzling visuals he conjures up.

Angelina Jolie and her prosthetically augmented cheekbones have the title role, a fairy who grew up in The Moors amongst assorted pixies, trolls and sprites, only to have her heart broken by the human boy who, to win the right to claim the throne, avenges a malevolent king who has battled Maleficent by whacking off her fairy wings.

The gruesome surgery takes place off-camera, for the most part.

That gives the fairy queen a grudge like no other. So when young Stefan (Sharlto Copley of “District 9”) becomes king, marries and his queen has a daughter, Maleficent storms her ex’s baby’s christening. And she lays on a curse. Young Princess Aurora will, when she turns 16, have an accident and “fall into a sleep like death.”

Aurora will some day doze off and require a — wait for it — “True love’s kiss” — something the cynically wingless Maleficent doubts will ever happen.

The Disney spin on the story is that Aurora, played by assorted adorable babies and toddlers, is sent to be raised by three incompetent pixies (Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville) to keep her from harm. Maleficent looks over her, gets mistaken by the child (Elle Fanning plays her as she reaches her teens) for her “fairy godmother” and develops feelings for the rugrat, whom she nicknames “Beastie.”

That situation is ripe for comedy, which this Linda Woolverton (“Alice in Wonderland”) script rarely delivers. Jolie can handle a withering put down and a convincing Mistress of Mayhem, but rarely gets the chance to do either.

“I like you begging,” she hisses. “Do it AGAIN.”

The pixies have their moments. Which are few. And the humorless humans have none.

Stromberg instead treats us to pretty little mudfights amongst Aurora and the froglike trolls of the swamp and big set-piece brawls between human soldiers and a forest turned into tree demons battling to save the magic.

Impressive. And violent. Just not a lot of fun.

Rating: PG for sequences of fantasy action and violence, including frightening images

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple

Credits: Directed Robert Stromberg, script by Linda Woolverton, based on the Grimm fairytale and Disney film “Sleeping Beauty.” A Walt Disney release.

Running time