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Chernabog (meaning "Black God" in Slavic) is the demonic denizen of Bald Mountain in Walt Disney's Masterpiece, Fantasia, during the Night on Bald Mountain segment, in which he erupts from the mountain and summons an army of demons. He ensues with his devilish antics at night until church bells ringing "Ave Maria" cast him away in the morning.
Chernabog is repelled by sunlight
Despite the brevity of his appearance and his lack of a place in a larger story, Chernabog was highly memorable as he symbolizes all that is evil in a sequence that in turn symbolizes the essential struggle between Good and Evil and the eventual triumph of Good.
Chernabog also appears in Kingdom Hearts as a boss in the End of the World. He is the penultimate boss of the game, counting all of Ansem's forms as one. Naturally, he is one of the most powerful bosses in the game. He also appears in the recent Dream Drop Distance game, where he is fought by Riku, though here the encounter is little more than a mini–game/quicktime event.
Kingdom Hearts
Chernabog in Kingdom Hearts
Chernabog is the only Disney villain with no explained reason for fighting Sora or aiding the Heartless in the Kingdom Hearts series. It is possible that he is such a dark entity already, he independently chooses to aid the Heartless in plummeting the universe into darkness by his own choice. This immense darkness could also be the reason he is the only non-Heartless fought in End of the World, because there's no point to turn him into a Heartless. It is also entirely possible that he is unaware of the Heartless and their goal, and simply fights because his dark and evil nature makes him want to wipe out sources of good and light, such as Sora, who just happens to cross his path. Considering his location, however, it is possible he is simply a gatekeeper used by Ansem to bar Sora from the innermost reaches of the End of the World.
An arranged version of the music from the original Fantasia short, Night on Bald Mountain, by Modest Mussorgski, is used as the battle music in Kingdom Hearts.
Dream Drop Distance
Chernabog later appeared in the world known as Symphony of Sorcery that attacked Riku. After Riku confronts a mysterious man in a black cloak, and talks with him for a brief while, he summons Chernabog from the volcano behind him to fight Riku. Despite this, Chernabog ended up getting defeated by Riku.
Mickey's House of Villains
Chernabog in Mickey's House of Villains
Chernabog also made an appearance in the movie Mickey's House of Villains. He was one of the many Disney villain who took over Mickey's House of Mouse. But for some reason, he was working for Jafar to help him take over Mickey's House.
Chernabog hanging out with Maleficent in her Dragon form
After the villains took over the House, Chernabog was spotted on several occasions sitting with Maleficent after she turned into her dragon from, almost as if they were dating. It unknown what happened to Chenabog after Mickey and the Disney heroes regain Mickey's House.
Reception
Chernabog is often considered the most powerful Disney villain, for obvious reasons, despite not speaking and not even being part of a proper story. An official poll placed him in the #13 spot, and the Nostalgia Critic went as far as to name him the number 1 Disney villain of all time, though he mistakenly thought that he was not only the Devil (indeed, he referred to Chernabog only as "The Devil" in the review and not by his proper name) but that as such he had influence over all other villains in Disney (thus assuming that he is the Devil not only in the world of Fantasia but in the entire Disney multiverse). This was addressed in a later video about the Critic's "F*ck–Ups", though even there he defended his error by saying that anyone watching Fantasia for the first time would assume him to be Satan.
Trivia
- Chernabog is mentioned in Kingdom Keepers II : Disney At Dawn.
- At first Chernabog was simply supposed to be Satan himself. But his name was changed, most likely for religious reasons.
- Chernabog is actually a creature out of Baltic folklore, a devil like demi-god, except rather than being lord of the netherworld per say it ruled over the fragil vale between life and death, a sort of king boogeyman.
- To some, Chernabog counts as the ultimate evil for the entire Disney multiverse.
- Chernabog is the first protagonist villain of a Disney film, as there is no visible hero or heroine that's in the lead in this segment.
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