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Yen Sid is a powerful sorcerer and teacher of Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a segment of the 1940 animated compilation film, Fantasia.
Background
According to the filmmakers, Yen Sid was apparently modeled after Walt Disney right down to signature facial features recognizable by the animators. Yen Sid's name, which is not given in the film itself, was given to him by the animators. It is "Disney" spelled backward which pays tribute to Walt Disney, himself.
Though he was amongst the most obscure Disney characters for over 65 years, Yen Sid has recently become a recurring character, making quite a few appearances in media raging from video games to the Disney theme parks, most notably after his introduction into the Kingdom Hearts series.
Personality
Being rather mysterious, not too much is known about the sorcerer. He is wise, practical and most often seen with a serious tone in such a way that it often quashes Mickey's playful nature into obedience. Most who encounter Yen Sid often can be bound to be intimidated by his appearance but underneath his fierce look, lies a heart of gold. Surprisingly, he is very forgiving and actually has a sense of humor. He is more than aware of Mickey's mischief and willing to deal with this; putting it aside to teach his apprentice. Underneath his harsh exterior is a man who strongly believes in his apprentices, no matter what mischief they may get into.
Physical appearance
Yen Sid is a stern-looking elderly gentleman with his signature sorcerer hat atop his head. He has a long gray beard reaching down underneath his chest. He has small eyes with tiny pupils as well as a long aqua-colored vestment which he wears in all appearances.
Powers and Abilities
Most of Yen Sid's magic is obtained through his sorcerer hat. With the hat, he is known to conjure up mystic clouds and bring to life inanimate objects. Despite this, he has abilities without the hat, presumably through years of study and discipline in practicing the arts of sorcery. When Mickey accidentally flooded the tower with the hat, Yen Sid stormed in and forced the water to dissolve and while so, he created large waves—all without the hat.
In the Kingdom Hearts series, Yen Sid was able to disappear in a beam of light.
Appearances
Fantasia
Yen Sid stops Mickey's chaos.
Yen Sid first appeared in the Fantasia short, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, as Mickey Mouse's master. He owns a magical hat, which is apparently the source of his power. In the short, he performs magic while Mickey completes his chores. Satisfied with his work, Yen Sid yawns and puts down his hat to retire for the night. During his absence, Mickey takes the hat and begins to play with its magic. He creates a living broom and orders it to take water and place it in a vat (which is his chore). After falling asleep, he awakens to see the broom flooding the tower. He chops it up, but this only creates several more. The tower is nearly flooded completely until Yen Sid returns from his chambers and stops the chaos with his powers. He is furious that Mickey had disobeyed him. Mickey returns his hat to him as he slowly goes to finish his chores. Yen Sid shows a small mischievous smirk at Mickey, who gives a weak smile and to make sure he has learned his lesson, Yen Sid smacks him once in the buttocks with the now inanimate broom, making Mickey get his chores done a lot faster.
Disney on Parade
In this episode of the Disneyland TV show broadcast in 1971, Yen Sid (incorrectly referred to as "Merlin the Magnificent") interrupts the Disney characters' dancing show by making them all disappear except Mickey. In a booming voice, Yen Sid questions if Mickey really plans on making a good show without any magic, an idea he finds nonsensical. A lightning strikes the stage and when the lights come back, Mickey finds himself in his "Sorcerer's Apprentice" costume; Yen Sid advises him to look in his pockets, and the mouse finds pixie dust in it, which he then uses to put together a magic act with help from Yen Sid's disembodied voice.
Fantasia 2000
Yen Sid reappears in the sequel and lives out the same role in the original, his sequence being the only one from the original film to appear in the new one.
House of Mouse
Yen Sid in House of Mouse
In the animated television series House of Mouse, Yen Sid makes a few cameos, usually alongside the magic brooms from the Fantasia short. In the episode "Rent Day", Mickey needs to find a book for Belle and asks Yen Sid for it until he reveals his strict face and Mickey quotes "Never mind." In "Pete's Christmas Caper", Pete steals the hat from Yen Sid and uses it to control the brooms as they steal everyone's Christmas gifts. Yen Sid was seen staring harshly at Mickey with his hat in "House of Magic". Yen Sid also made a cameo appearance in Mickey's Magical Christmas where his hat was turned into that of Santa Claus' as the club undergoes a Christmas makeover. For some reason, Yen Sid's beard is much shorter than usual.
Printed media
Descendants: Isle of the Lost
Yen Sid resides on the Isle of the Lost as the science professor of Dragon Hall. He was sent on behalf of King Beast to teach the next generation of villains how to live without magic and using science instead. Despite leaving Auradon, Yen Sid takes the obligation in stride and eagerly teaches the students, good or bad.
Miscellaneous stories
He rarely appears in the Mickey Mouse stories, but there are some cases:
- In the story Case of the Hovering Wolf (INDUCKS W WDC 133-03), he gives magic powers to the Li'l Bad Wolf.
- In the Brazilian story O Novo Aprendiz De Feiticeiro (INDUCKS B 74024), he takes Fethry Duck as a new apprentice.
- In the other Brazilian story De Volta À Fantasia (INDUCKS B 910276), Mickey and Goofy help him to beat Magica de Spell and Mad Madam Mim.
- In the story Consider the Sorcery, in which Sorcerer Mickey is depicted as an ancestor of the current Mickey Mouse that's actually named Moustradamus, Yen Sid is gone and has left the position of village's sorcerer to Mickey/Moustradamus. However, when he's in trouble, Mickey seems able to contact Yen Sid thanks to a magic potion that makes Yen Sid's face appears in its fumes; whether it's a mean of communication while Yen Sid is alive and retired, or if Yen Sid is dead and Mickey is invoking his ghost, is not clarified.
- Of course, he also appears in all comics adaptations of the short The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which Inducks codes are W SS 2-02 and Kus/MMA 9B.
- Yen Sid has also appeared in the comics and manga based on Epic Mickey and the Kingdom Hearts series.
Video Game Appearances
Kingdom Hearts series
Yen Sid appears in Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance as a retired Keyblade Master, renowned for his wisdom and command over the arts of magic; though no longer an active Keyblade Master, he still keeps a close watch on the balance between Light and Darkness. He was once Mickey Mouse's master and taught him everything he knows about magic and the Keyblade.
In Kingdom Hearts II, Yen Sid's tower is invaded by the Heartless (led by Pete) in an attempt to turn the old wizard into a Heartless, as well. Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive and defeat the enemies. They then meet Yen Sid, who informs the duo of the challenges they will face on their latest adventure. He also introduces Sora to Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, who bestow new powers and clothing. After returning them to their Gummi ship, Yen Sid vanishes for the remainder of the story.
At the end of Re:coded, Yen Sid has a meeting with Mickey discussing the current circumstances of Sora's success. He explains that the defeat of Heartless Ansem and Nobody Xemnas has led to the restoration of their original form, Master Xehanort. With such a threat, Yen Sid demands that Sora and Riku be summoned to undertake their Mark of Mastery exam.
In Dream Drop Distance, Yen Sid's oversees the exam and puts Sora and Riku to the test by assigning them to awaken several worlds which remained in a state of "deep sleep" following Ansem's destruction. By the time of the exam's completion, Yen Sid only declares Riku as a Keyblade Master, since he managed to unlock two keyholes of sleep, while Sora failed to resist the darkness and ended up in a magical sleep induced by Young Xehanort. Meanwhile, having realized Master Xehanort's plan to recreate the χ-blade by pitting his new Organization XIII against the seven Princesses of Heart, Yen Sid devises a plan to counter Xehanort by gathering seven Keyblade wielders of Light to protect the Princesses, and orders Riku to bring Kairi to him to undergo training with the Keyblade she received from Aqua.
Epic Mickey
- “The world I had created was ravaged, a wasteland...”
- ―Yen Sid.
Yen Sid in the opening cutscene of Epic Mickey
Years ago, Yen Sid created a home for the forgotten and retired aspects of Disney, serving as a benevolent, albeit unseen creator, watching from "on high" and enjoying their antics. But one day, his magic mirror opened into the home of Mickey Mouse. When he entered Yen Sid's workshop after he was resting from that evening's work, Mickey played with the magic paintbrush and created a monster, ruining Yen Sid's creation in the process, now dubbed the Wasteland.
In the end, Mickey returns home and is apparently locked out of Yen Sid's studies. Although it seems to be impossible to return, Yen Sid remembers he is Mickey Mouse and with that personality will eventually find a way to return.
Yen Sid also serves as the narrator of the game, looking back at what events followed.
Fantasia: Music Evolved
Yen Sid tasks the player as the sorcerer that the worlds that he had created.
Disney Magical World
Yen Sid appears in the game as the creator of the primary world known as Castleton, which is the peaceful home of dozens of citizens and Disney characters. Aside from appearing in the opening cinematic for the game, Yen Sid also summons the player to seek help in defeating an army of ghosts that have been invading the tranquil realm.
Disney Parks
Disneyland Resort
In Disneyland, Yen Sid played a major role in Mickey and the Magical Map, appearing in animated form on the theater screen, interacting with the live Mickey Mouse. In the show, Mickey uses Yen Sid's magic to travel along a special map showcasing various Disney locations. Throughout, an ink spot causes mischief, which is revealed to have been Yen Sid watching over Mickey the entire time.
Walt Disney World Resort
Yen Sid can be easily spotted as a statue at the Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf at Walt Disney World Resort. He is featured in Hole 6, which is known as The Legend of Yen Sid and showcases him controlling water as he did in the film.
He has his own spell card known as "Yen Sid's Sorcerer Hat" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
He is also mentioned during the Fantasia segment of The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Gallery
Trivia
- The first time that Yen Sid had spoken was in a 1971 episode of the Wonderful World of Disney called Disney On Parade, where he was voiced by the late Michael Rye. As his name was not common knowledge at the time, he was mistakenly called "Merlin". It wasn't until Kingdom Hearts II, nearly 35 years later, that Corey Burton took the role of Yen Sid and has since been voicing him.
- The Disney animators used Disney's "dirty look" (which was the look that Walt gave his animators when he disapproved of their work) for the sorcerer by lifting his eyebrow.
- Yen Sid's appearance inspired the appearance of King Kashekim Nedakh, Kida's father from Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
- Yen Sid himself did not appear in the film The Sorcerer's Apprentice, but his hat did at the end of the end credits for the film, although he was the inspiration for the wise sorcerer character Balthazar Blake.
- "Yen Sid" backward is "Dis Ney", which without the space makes "Disney". Due to this, he is probably meant to represent Walt Disney himself.
- "Yensid" (Disney spelled backward) is the last name of Retlaw Yensid (Walter Disney), a pseudonym Walt Disney sometimes used instead of his real name.
- The only film credit containing the word Yensid was for the 1962 movie Walt Disney presents Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N. by Bill Ford pseud. for William Johnston, based on a story by Retlaw Yensid. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1966 : July-December pg. 1762 By Library of Congress. Copyright Office
- In the book Walt's People (pg. 167), Bill Walsh talks about Walt handing the story for Lt. Robin Crusoe USN to him: "That's interesting because it was the only story Walt ever wrote. He wrote it on the back of an envelope on the plane or the back of a throw-up bag or whatever it is. At the end of it, I said, "Walt, you don't want your name on this, do you? "I do, too!" he said. And by God, he did it. Only he reversed it, "Retlaw Yensid." He wrote his name backward. That's the way it's on the screen. That's Retlaw Yensid."
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