[Photo/China Daily]

She credited her children with helping create the character. One of them, 5-year-old Vivienne, plays Aurora, a young princess, in the film.

"They kind of directed me," she says. "I would do things that would make them interested or smile. They picked the voice … And the same with costumes. I would try on different things and they had their favorites. And there were certain ideas they didn't like that I didn't do."

Her latest live-action role brings the Mr and Mrs Smith star back to the silver screen for the first time in nearly four years. Maleficent earned over $70 million in the United States after its release on May 28, making it Jolie's highest-grossing opening weekend to date. It opens in China on June 20.

She was accompanied to Shanghai by her partner Brad Pitt and three of her children. They spent Monday at the Long Museum of Contemporary Art.

"I think they're in dim sum classes right now," she says of her children.

Disneyland Shanghai is scheduled to open in late 2015, but the actress would not be drawn on whether it will feature a Maleficent-themed attraction to pair with the highly anticipated Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride.

Kung Fu Panda 3, for which Jolie will voice the character of Master Tigress, is due out late next year, and Salt 2 is rumored to be in the pipeline. Jolie also hinted at possibly reprising her not-so-wicked witch role for Maleficent 2.

"It's pretty hard to top her," she says. "Maybe I'll get the chance to play her again."