Chernabog

Chernabog is a massive, all-powerful demon who appears as a villain in the Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria segment of Fantasia. The huge, nocturnal demon is based on the god of the night in Slavonic mythology. At Walpurgis Night (the Witches' Sabbath), Chernabog emerges from the peak of Bald Mountain (in reality Mount Triglav in Slovenia) to summon all of his minions, who dance furiously as he throws them into the mountain’s fiery pit. Chernabog has been praised as Disney’s best representation of pure evil, and as animator Vladimir Tytla's greatest triumph. He is considered one of Disney's most powerful and terrifying villains; as the god of evil, he does not work towards a specific goal but exists purely to be evil.

Fantasia
The sequence takes place in a mountainous area, in which a village is overlooked by Bald Mountain. The peak of Bald Mountain is revealed to be Chernabog's wings, which he spreads out as he looks at the village down below. Stretching out his arms, Chernabog casts a dark shadow over the village and summons ghosts, including the spirits of hanged criminals (who pass through the noose a second time as they rise from their graves), fallen warriors in the moat and grounds of a ruined castle, and the souls of all who are not buried in sacred ground.

The ghosts join together to become a single mass, swirling around Chernabog, who laughs and summons fire and demons. As the demons emerge and gather below their master, he grabs a number of them and disdainfully throws them into the fires of Bald Mountain, while his other minions dance on. He then uses flames to create images: first, the flames resemble elegant dancers; then, at his pleasure, they transform into dancing barnyard animals. Chernabog then transforms them into blue demons, who dance before him, causing him to grin maliciously. As the dancing continues, it becomes more frantic and chaotic; Harpies fly above the demons, occasionally grabbing them and throwing them into the inferno. The celebration culminates in a blinding flash of fire from the inferno. Chernabog, ready to continue, eagerly leers over his minions, but is interrupted by the sound of bells, which herald the coming of the dawn. Though he initially ignores the sound, the light of the sun forces him and his minions to retreat; as the ghosts return to their resting places, Chernabog raises his arms one final time, and closes his wings, protecting himself from the sunlight and becoming the peak of the mountain once more.

House of Mouse


In the House of Mouse series, Chernabog's role is largely for comical purposes. Voiced by Corey Burton, he is sometimes seen in the audience, often with a regular-sized table, which causes him to sit in a difficult position. At one point he admits to gossip queen Clarabelle Cow that he is afraid of the dark. In the later episode "Where's Minnie" however, when the lights go out he comments "I kinda like the dark". He is also one of the many villains to appear in Mickey's House of Villains; Maleficent, after transforming into a dragon, sits next to Chernabog, who compliments her on her work and enjoys a drink with her. In one episode Daisy says he and Zeus played darts with lightning bolts.

Vault Disney
In the intro to Vault Disney, Chernabog can be seen spreading his wings on Bald Mountain.

Kingdom Keepers Novels
Chernabog is the main antagonist of the book series. He plays the role of the ruthless leader of the Overtakers or Disney Villains. It was originally thought that Maleficent was the leader until Chernabog was revealed to be so.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Chernabog was considered for inclusion in early drafts of the film for a big cameo part in the film's climax. However, the director decided it would be better to save him for a sequel should they ever get the chance, as a villain of Chernabog's magnitude deserves a stronger part. Though his part was cut, there is a gargoyle that appears several times in the film resembling Chernabog, often in shots with Horvath, the film's villain.

Kingdom Hearts
Chernabog appears as a boss at the End of the World in the first Kingdom Hearts game. The Japanese version of the game uses "Squirming Evil", the track used for most Disney Villain battles. However, in the American version of Kingdom Hearts, as well as in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, the background music for the battle with Chernabog is an arrangement of "Night on Bald Mountain", renamed "A Night on the Bare Mountain."

On their way to confront Ansem, while fighting his legions of Heartless, Sora, Donald, and Goofy encounter the demon Chernabog. He wakes up and promptly attacks the trio, but is defeated after a grueling battle.

Disney Parks
Chernabog makes numerous appearances through the parks in different parades and shows, often as a major float element of a villain float.

Fantasmic!
Chernabog is one of the villains summoned by the Queen to do away with Mickey Mouse and destroy his imagination. Clips from Night on Bald Mountain are shown on water screens, indicating that Chernabog is summoning a host of ghouls against Mickey.

SpectroMagic
Chernabog appears in his Bald Mountain float rising out like he did in the original film with red lights.

Storybook Land Canal Boats
In the Disneyland Paris version of the attraction, Chernabog appears in a scene based on the village from Night on Bald Mountain, though he is perched atop a ruined castle tower instead of the mountain-top.

World of Color
Chernabog plays a role and brings fourth the Colors of Fear. Here he conjures up the element of fire in contrast to water. He is accompanied by The Firebird and Doctor Facilier.

Behind the Scenes
Chernabog was animated by Vladimir Tytla.

Inspiration and Design
The idea for Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria's Devil was conceived by German artist Heinrich Kley (who, though he did not work at the Disney studio, inspired many of the Disney artists, and whose drawings were collected by Walt Disney), who once sketched a pen and ink drawing of a gigantic demon forcing workers out of a factory by blocking the chimney. Albert Hurter, inspired by this drawing and others like it by Kley, drew various sketches of a huge, winged devil tossing handfuls of souls into a volcano. Hurter's sketches also included studies of Chernabog's hands as his flailing minions attempt to clamber onto his fingers for safety; this imagery is used in a scene in the final film. After Hurter's initial sketches, Kay Nielsen established the final appearance of Chernabog and his world in a series of detailled pastel illustrations, as well as a model sheet for the character. Chernabog was then created as a real model, to be used as reference by Tytla during animation.

Animation

 * "No one but Tytla could have given Chernabog the odious, predominantly animal mentality which made him so fearsome." - Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston

Tytla was Ukrainian, and thus had a clear image in his mind of the character of his culture's folklore. Thornton Hee recalled wanting to ask Tytla about something, but finding that the animator's room was in complete darkness save for the fluorescent light under Tytla's drawing, which lit his face in an eerie way as he worked. This unnerved T. Hee enough to compell him to leave without alerting Tytla to his presence at all.

Trivia

 * The Nostalgia Critic listed Chernabog, whom he referred to as "The Devil", as Number 1 on his "Top 11 Disney Villians" list. (He later acknowledged the name error and thought of it as a "Tomatos, to-mah-tos" thing.) In describing Chernabog, he said, "He didn't hatch any diabolical plans or ruin anybody's life, but...it's the devil! He is evil-incarnate...He doesn't talk, doesn't sing, and doesn't mess around with any of the good guys, but that's how the devil works; he doesn't strike people down like Maleficent, or scheme evil plots like Frollo, he's working through them, motivating them, and encouraging every ounce of evil that they do."
 * In the intro to the 50 Years of Disney TV special, despite terrifying Mickey Mouse half to death, Chernabog is shown to be fearful of and obedient to former CEO Michael Eisner.
 * Chernabog makes cameo appearances in the DC Comics story Kingdom Come in a villain bar and in a climactic battle.
 * In an unproduced sequel of Fantasia, Chernabog would have been the main villain of the film, using his powers to ressurrect the most powerful Disney villains, who would have helped him spread the darkness all over the world.