The first photos of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, the title character of the upcoming film of the same name, shows her with black, curving horns; sharp cheekbones; and yellow eyes.The costume is reminiscent of the original Disney rendering of the wicked fairy who curses the baby Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty."
The image only provides atmosphere; there's no insight into the reinterpretation of the character herself, though the film promises to show us what turned Maleficent bad.
Jolie is far, far from the first flesh-and-bone actor to add a new dimension to a previously-drawn character. Here are six other performers who went from animation to live-action.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini: "Scooby-Doo"
This group made the Scooby Gang come to life, literally. The live-action "Scooby-Doo" took the cartoonish aspects of the original show and made them big and real in a way only possible with actual actors.
Matthew Lillard's Shaggy was so good he's been providing the voice for the animated versions since 2009. Add the extra layer that the Buffy crew often referred to themselves as the Scooby Gang in Sarah Michelle Gellar's previous life as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and it's all pop-culture goodness.
Robin Williams: "Popeye"
This 1980 film directed by Robert Altman -- yes, Robert Altman -- was on the early end of live-action cartoon adaptations, with Williams as the Sailor-Man and Shelly Duvall as Olive Oyl. Asking Williams to become a cartoon is a little like asking a fish to hold its breath underwater; Popeye was a faithful recreation of the character, down to the beefy forearms.
Robin Williams: "Hook"
"Hook" departed from the true reproduction of cartoon to live-action, asking what would happen if Peter Pan, the boy who swore never to grow up, did. And who do you get to play such a character? Robin Williams, naturally.
This Peter Pan wasn't meant to be like the boy in the green outfit with the pointy hat, though Williams did eventually don a costume reminiscent of the Disney original.
Glenn Close: "101 Dalmatians"
Cruella De Vil came to complete, colorful, black-and-white glory in the live-action version of the Disney film, starring Glenn Close as the utterly believable villainess. No small feat, considering the illogic of De Vil's obsession.
The visual execution of the character was perfect, but it was Close's portrayal of the psychotic fasionista that kept the film true in spirit to its original.
Rene Russo, Jason Alexander "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle"
Sometimes it's the bad guys who make the film. Boris and Natasha, cartoonishly recreated by Russo and Alexander, gave this movie a comedic boost.
The tone and the feel of the movie closely resembled the original cartoon series, which was big on puns and just-missed-it jokes, with understated but effective animation bringing Rocky and Bullwinkle into the 21st century.
Jim Carrey: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
Perhaps no one else in Hollywood other than Jim Carrey could have reproduced the look and feel of Dr. Seuss's the Grinch from the 1966 animated classic. Carrey's freakish flexibility -- not just with his body, but particularly his face -- allowed him to take on the physicality of this inhuman character.
While the story needed stretching to fill the longer format, Carrey's fully expressive Grinch completed the same emotional journey. In fact, there's a little more indication the lesson would stick.
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