Chernabog

Chernabog is a fictional character who appears in the "Night on Bald Mountain" scene of Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940). He is a nocturnal demon who holds power over various restless souls whom he summons from their graves. Image File history File links Chern. ... Image File history File links Chern. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... Walt Disney For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ... Fantasia is a 1940 motion picture, the third in the Disney animated features canon, which was a Walt Disney experiment in animation and music. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... In folklore, mythology, and religion, a demon or demoness is a supernatural being that has generally been described as a malevolent spirit but outside Christian circles was viewed as a sort of elemental spirit: compare Daemon and djinn. ...

He is considered among the most visually impressive characters appearing in Disney's films. Bela Lugosi served as a live action model for Chernabog. Lugosi spent several days at the Disney studios, where he was filmed doing evil, demon-like poses for the animators to use as a reference. Animator Vladimir Bill Tytla (October 25, 1904 - December 30, 1968) then used his own idea of how a demon should look to draw Chernabog. Chernabog's creation is considered a highlight of his creativity. Bela Lugosi as Dracula United States stamp Béla Lugosi was the stage name of actor Béla Ferenc DezsÅ‘ Blaskó (October 20, 1882–August 16, 1956). ... Vladimir Peter Tytla (October 25, 1904–December 30, 1968) was one of the original Disney animators and is considered by many to be the best character animator working during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

Tytla was from Ukraine and he probably sought inspiration from the folklore of this region. The name Chernabog is of Slavic origin, and is derived from Crnobog, the Slavic god of darkness. Folklore is the ethnographic concept of the tales, legends, or superstitions current among a particular population, a part of the oral history of a particular culture. ... The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. ... The Black God is the god of night and darkness in Slavic mythology, and the waning year in opposition to Belobog, the White God of the waxing year. ... Slavic mythology and Slavic religion evolved over more than 3,000 years. ...

Chernabog appeared in the Disney/Squaresoft crossover game Kingdom Hearts as a powerful boss who ruled over End of the World. Kingdom Hearts (Japanese: キングダムハーツ Kingudamu Hātsu) is a hybrid action/RPG that was released in Autumn of 2002, which is notable for being the result of a collaboration between the video game developer and publisher Square and Disney. ... Flag Ship from the video game Gorf In video games, a boss (sometimes called a guardian) is a particularly large or difficult computer-controlled character that must be defeated at the end of a segment of a game, whether it be for a level, an episode, or the very end...

He also appears as one of the villains in both versions of the Fantasmic! nighttime spectacular at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Ca. and Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Fl.

Links

• A more detailed profile of Chernabog: http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/villains/chernabog/chernabog.html
• An image gallery deticated to Chernabog: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/1622/Chernabog.html
• An analysis of Chernabog as a Disney "villain": http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/5658/fantasia.html
• A site devoted to his creator Vladimir "Bill" Tytla: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/5308/
• His creator's profile in the Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Tytla,+Bill
• A text presenting Chernobog and other Slavic Gods: http://www.ibiblio.org/sergei/Dazhdbog.html
• A site devoted to Slavic Pagan beliefs that includes references to Chernobog though with alternate spellings: http://members.aol.com/HPSofSNERT/beli.html
• A list of Slavic gods with an explanation. Includes Chernobog: http://members.aol.com/purging/ptp2/slavic.htm