Maleficent "Mal" Bertha is one if the two main protagonists of the Disney Channel animated short series Descendants: Wicked World . along with her best friend, Evie. She is the daughter of Maleficent, the most evil villain of them all. Mal is a natural born leader who loves art and casting spells...only as needed. Mal is the leader of the newest generation of villains. Mal is best friends with Evie, she is good friends with Jay and Carlos. She is currently dating Ben, and is former enemies with Audrey, daughter of Aurora.
Mal is voiced by Dove Olivia Cameron or Chloe Celeste Hosterman, who also portrayed Mal in the movie Desendants 1, 2, and 3.
Personality[]
Mal is a sneaky, smart, and (sometimes) a rude ruthless girl who is a natural leader. Though she is compassionate to a degree she is also vengeful and doesn't forgive others easily. She is artistic and has a knack for casting spells, but only if needed. As the daughter of Maleficent, she wants to be like her mother: pure evil. Yet whenever she tries to prove herself to her mother, she often disappoints her instead. But she does enjoy coming up with evil plans and is the most feared at her previous school because of her reputation. She isn't fond of beautiful surroundings or anything pink and finds them to be horrid, but she does sometimes wonder about how life would be off the island. Despite this, she is not necessarily immoral; she is just misguided. Her "mean girl" facade is an act because she does not want to be seen as weak in her mother's eyes; being one is the only way she is respected by Maleficent, who never cared about Mal. Ben is the only person who saw through Mal's act, and saw her for who she was, a good person.
In the second novel, Mal is more open and still cherishes Ben; it makes her happy that Ben loves her, despite Mal being the opposite of Auradon princesses. She retains a fear of her mother escaping imprisonment and causing trouble. She also shows regret, for abusing her old friend Mad Maddy. Mal is the only one of her friends not to be tempted by an enchanted item that belonged to their parents, as her heart was filled with love and friendship. She is still the one with most common sense amongst them, as she knew using the talismans (even for a good cause) would cause items to corrupt them.
Physical Appearance[]
Mal is described as a girl with dark purple hair with highlights of lighter shades of purple that is curly and reaches a little bit over her shoulders.
She has gray eyes and is of medium height. She mostly wears purple and shades of green during the movie. At Ben's coronation, she wears a lavender dress that is short on the front but long and regal looking on the back. Mal had her hair tied up in a top knot. According to Descendants: Isle of the Lost, she has a dragon-shaped marking on her arm, the symbol of Maleficent.
Powers & Abilities[]
Mal is trained in dark forms of magic, courtesy of her mother. Due to the Isle of the Lost negating magic inside the dome, Mal only begins practicing magic after leaving the island, and therefore is only skilled at basic magic. By Descendants: Wicked World however, it's noted by others that something bad almost always happens every time she uses magic despite being skilled in the film.
Relationships of Mal[]
Family Tree[]
Maleficent[]
(Mother)
Mal has always wanted to make her mother proud though her mother's expectations were too high and her mother never thought she was evil enough, often lecturing about how evil she was in the past and often comparing Mal to herself and putting her down and putting severe pressure on her. Mal was the most determined of the VKs to follow her parent's footsteps especially since her mother was the most powerful. She tried looking to her mother and asking her what to do and believed correctly her mother would punish her should she fail. Lonnie also asked Mal if her mother ever made her cookies since she thought villains loved their kids too, causing Mal to become depressed while claiming her mother did love her but seemed reluctant in her words. However, Ben assured her that she doesn't have to follow her mother's path and that she had goodness in her and should follow her own heart. When her mother and the other parents talked to the VKs via computer chat, Maleficent pretended to care about Mal when really she just wanted to know if she founded the wand yet, leading to arguments among the parents and pressure and anxiety for the VKs. When Maleficent saw Mal had "tricked" Ben in order to get close to the wand she seemed proud. She was upset when Mal chose good and decided to punish her, but Mal had stood up for herself against her mother and turned her into a gecko (since she turned her into the size of the love in her heart). Despite this, she told the guards to be careful when escorting her away because she was still her mother and she still loved her.
Hades[]
(father) Hades is Mal's estranged father. The first time they meet in the movies is when Hades is trying to escape the isle of the lost. The second is when Mal needs Hades's ember to undo Audrey's curse. Mal at first is resentful of him because he abandoned her as a baby but Hades states that he didn't abandon her he left her mother. Mal and Hades debate the hardships they have suffered in life and Hades breaks into a song (Do What You Gotta Do). Throughout the song, Hades does seem to care about Mal like when he talks about her showing him the town and that his neglect made her a stronger person. Hades, in the end, does give Mal his ember, as Mal walks away he says to himself "that's my girl". On their way out Celia reveals that Hades constantly asks about her. Mal is quite aware that even though Hades left her as a baby he still cares about her as she figured that Hades would save Audrey if she requested it. Hades did come through and saved Audrey when he was being walked out by the guards Mal called out to him saying "I'm going to have to miss you all over again" Mal walks up to him and kisses him on the cheek. Hades hands Mal back the ember and gives her a wink. Mal breaks into tears at being seperated from her father yet again. When the barrier is taken down for good, Hades asks Mal and Ben if he is invited to their wedding. Mal happily hugs him and holds his arm. Hades gives them his blessing but when Mal isn't looking he gives Ben the I'm watching you gesture, showing his feeling of overprotectivenss for Mal. Hades lets himself be led by Mal into Auradon. Although Hades has been absent for most of Mal's life, he appears to care more for Mal than Maleficent does, willing to help Audrey and apparently give up villainy to be part of her life again and Mal finally gets a parent that loves her more than being evil.
Romances[]
Ben[]
(boyfriend)
He seemed to be attracted to her the first moment they met. Mal, nonetheless, was more focused on getting the wand and once told Jane and Evie that she thought love and getting a boyfriend were stupid and that she didn't need them. He frequently tried to approach and be friendly with the VKs, but was most friendly with Mal.
Interesting, the two both had a dream about the other before ever meeting each other. When Mal learned Ben his family and his girlfriend get to be near the wand, she immediately tried to entice Ben by making a love potion cookie and giving it to him. When he ate it, it had an extremely strong effect and he proclaimed his love for her after the Tourney team victory. She accepted and when the two went on their first date.
During the date, the two got to know each other well and Ben saw the goodness in Mal and advised her they didn't have to follow their parent's footsteps. Mal even began questioning whether to follow the goodness inside her or follow her mother's footsteps and when he seemed to be drowning, she risked drowning herself to save him since she didn't know how to swim.
While the potion did washed off Ben, he still loved her and decided to remain in a relationship with her. Mal thought since their parents would kill them if she and the VKs didn't go through with the plan, she figured the least she could do was erase his feelings. However, during the parade, she learned he knew he was under a potion which washed off, but still loved her. She admitted she was happy being with him and being at Auradon and decided to stay and be good. The two have since remained a couple.
In Wicked World, the two are shown to flirt, with Mal often complimenting on how cute he is and being impressed when he lied to Jay, while Ben encourages her to do her best and being a good person. The two had shared a romantic dance in Episode 16 and when he was kidnapped, she was extremely worried and happy upon learning he was safe.
The two are still in a relationship in Return to the Isle of the Lost.
Friends[]
Evie[]
(BFF) When the two were younger, the two did not get along. Evie didn't invite her to her sixth birthday party, so Mal tried to get revenge on her. However, after saving Evie from being cursed as they, along with Carlos and Jay, went to get Maleficent's Scepter from The Forbidden Fortress, and finding out that it was Evie's mother who didn't want her at the party, they became friends. Mal seemed to be in charge and bossed Evie around (similar to how Audrey treated her friends) the two still got along. She told Evie that having a boyfriend was stupid especially since her own "boyfriend", Chad, was making her do his homework for him. When Chad broke her heart after becoming Audrey's boyfriend, Mal comforted her by telling her how great she is and that she doesn't need a prince to be happy like Audrey did. When Mal needed help getting ready for her date with Ben, Evie volunteered to help her. When Mal decided to erase Ben's feelings, Evie gave her comfort. The two had both decided to be good, stayed at Auradon, and defeated Maleficent alongside Carlos and Jay. The two are best friends who stand by each other and often hang out with each other. In Descendants 2 they shared a sweet moment when they sang a duet entitled (Space Between).
Carlos De Vil[]
(Friend) While the two don't have much interaction, they still got along. she often had to remind him to stay focused such as when he was distracted by video games when they were discussing how to steal the wand. She cheered for him when he and Jay won the Tourney competition and when she had to choose between good and evil she managed to convince Carlos to join the good side, telling him he didn't have to worry about being punished by their parents and that they would stick together as friends.
Jay[]
(Friend) While the two don't have much interaction, they still got along. She often had to remind him to stay focused. She was annoyed by his impulsiveness in trying to get the wand and when he considered staying in Auradon since it was such a nice place. she cheered for him when he and Carlos won the Tourney competition and when she had to choose between good and evil she managed to convince Jay to join the good side.
Audrey[]
(Enemy) The two were the children of Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty, so there was tension from their family history when the two first met. Audrey thought little of Mal, often belittling her in her presence and during family day Audrey told her grandmother to stay away from her. After the incident, she began publicly and loudly ridiculing Mal but became scared when Mal threatened to use magic on them. However at the end of the film the two bow to each other in respect. However, in Wicked World, Mal tends to get in trouble with Audrey because Audrey gets caught in the crossfire of Mal's magical antics, even if by accident. When CJ committed a series of acts and framed Mal and the VKs for it, she became suspicious of them and confronted Mal when Ben disappeared being the first to call her out but was proven wrong and admitted that she could never understand the VKs.
Jane[]
(Friend) Initially Jane was scared of the VKs but since she was the fairy godmother's daughter Mal tried to befriend her to get to the wand. She knew Jane lacked self esteem and used that to her advantage, changing her hair to be prettier and subtly telling her her mother didn't care about her and that she should try to convince her mother to use the wand to make her prettier. Jane took the advice and befriended Mal. However, after the fiasco at Family Day between the VKs and Chad, Jane ridiculed Mal only for Mal to retaliate by changing her hair back to its ugly form, causing her to be ostracized. Jane was so humiliated she tried to take her mother's wand to make herself pretty but when she was going to get punished for her action by her mother, Mal assured her mother it was her fault Jane did what she did since Mal was the one who put the ideas in her head and the two became friends.
However, in Wicked World, when her mascot uniform was stolen she accused Mal of taking it because she found her bracelet in her room when it was CJ who framed Mal. Mal told her she didn't take her mascot uniform and Jane decided that maybe she's right.
Lonnie[]
(Friend) Lonnie was acting nice toward Mal and asked for her to do her hair. Later she saw her, Evie, Carlos and Jay baking some cookies and offered to help giving them chocolate chips. She then asked if her parents made any since she figured the VKs' parents must love their children, with Mal despondently stating things were different for them. She immediately regretted her actions and cried apologetically. After the family day incident, while she was not mean to Mal, she did begin avoiding her especially since she was worried Mal might take away her spelled hair like she did with Jane. However, by the end of the film the two seemed to have became friends again. In episode 11, she and Evie helped design her outfit for the hip hop stage performance. When things went bad and Ben went missing, Lonnie was the only AK not to accuse her (though she was busy manning the DJ station).
Jordan[]
(Friend) Jordan accused Mal of stealing her lamp when it was Jay who stole it and framed her, but the two seemed to be good friends. She did accused Mal of being back to her evil ways in Episode 17, until it was revealed CJ was the culprit.
Ally[]
(Friend) Ally is shown to be distrusting of the VK's, especially Mal. Before the ball Mal accidentally spills tea on Ally's dress, however she believes that Mal ruined the dress purposefully. Mal attempts to fix the dress, replacing the stain with a floral design. When Mal offers to use magic to get them to the ball, Ally tells Mal that she tends to be disastrous with magic, offending Mal in the process. During the ball Ben goes missing, and Ally is quick to accuse Mal, claiming it's part of her evil plot to take over Auradon. However, she seems to come around later, explaining to Audrey that Mal had been under a curse when she was reeking havoc, and shouldn't be blamed.
Freddie Facilier[]
(Friend) The two knew each other when they were younger and she tried to warn Ben that she was bad news. Despite this, the two managed to get along. When Freddie revealed she was working with CJ to cause havoc around Auradon, she chose to stay in Auradon and Mal forgave her, saying if she didn't forgive everyone with a maniacal scheme she wouldn't have any.
Doug[]
(Friend) There was little interaction between the two, though the two seem to be friendly with each other in relation to Evie.
Enemies[]
CJ Hook[]
(Enemy) She knew her from her past and knew she was trouble. CJ had framed Mal for all the bad things she did and tried to team up with her to take over Auradon. When she refused, CJ accused her of being soft. When she escaped, Mal decided to let her go, saying enjoying the dance was more important than catching her.
Chad Charming[]
(Enemy) She had little interaction with him but she disliked him for using Evie, telling Evie he wasn't worth it and felt sorry for him going with Audrey, since Evie was much smarter prettier and kinder.
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- Her name means "bad" in Spanish, French and Portuguese.
- Dove Cameron wore a wig during filming.
- In a scene where Mal tries to save Ben from drowning, it is revealed that she can't swim.
- At the time of the film, she is sixteen years old.
- Mal has the most common sense out of her friends, as she got every answer in Remedial Goodness right by picking the answer that sounded the least fun for villains.
- During her picnic with Ben, she is shown to develop a fondness with strawberries
- She loves the color purple though in episode thirteen Evie describes it more as an aubergine while Freddie disagrees saying it looks like eggplant and Audrey states it looks more like amethyst.
- Mal's main colors are purple, symbolizing power, which is a recurring theme with her mother Maleficent.
- In the film, it's revealed that her middle name is "Bertha." In the Spanish version, her middle name is "Igna." Maligna is a wordplay for Malign.
- During the film, whenever Mal is around Ben, her hair seems shorter and lighter.
- The dress she wears for Ben's coronation appears to be adaptable.
- In the prequel book, it is revealed she had a dream set near the Enchanted Lake, where Ben and Mal eventually go to on their date.
- The junior novelization and prequel book reveal some additional details about her.
- Her full name is Maleficent, like her mother. However, she is called Mal until she can prove to be just as evil as her mother.
- She used to despise Evie.
- She found her mother's staff locked in the ruins of the Forbidden Fortress. Unfortunately it was no longer working, so Maleficent charged her with stealing the Fairy Godmother's wand to recharge it.
- She attended Dragon Hall (an evil high school), while on the Isle of the Lost.
- Unlike Evie, Jay, and Carlos, she does not have a pet. The reason for this is that she was not invited to Evie's sixth birthday party, where the other children received their animals as gifts.
- She had a human father, who is regarded by Maleficent with contempt.
- She steals from the Slop Shop every day since her mother never has food in the kitchen.
- In the "Disney Descendants Yearbook". It's revealed that her "Secret Wish" is to learn how to swim and that her "Not-so-secret Wish" is to have a different middle name.
- It's also revealed that she wants to be an artist when she grows up.
- Her favorite class is "Remedial Goodness 101", stating that she just thinks of what her mom would do and pick the opposite.
- Her 'Go-To Object at the museum is her mother's magic spinning wheel. Stating that even though it's boring-looking, it's spooky that a few pieces of wood could put someone to sleep for a hundred years.
- In the scene when the gang makes cookies many questions are asked about how it worked when they added extra ingredients.
- In early concept designs of her outfits, she was originally meant to have short hair.
- In Descendants: Wicked World she is shown to be a skilled painter, as she has painted Audrey in her mother's signature dress and tiara.
- In 2016, Jolly Roger (Amusement Rides LTD) made her as a coin operated trolley ride. On the very old version, she features two rectangle shaped buttons. The green one reads "START", which starts the trolley ride, and a red button for sound effects and phrases. Later, another version was made, which had circular buttons. The sounds on Mal are "All ABOARD!" ''ding ding! (the sound of a trolley), "Toot toot!" and her popular catchphrase "We are not our parents!"
- On Descendants 2, Mal has the Ability to Transform into a Dragon like her Mother Maleficent.
