Naturally, I have to include Chernabog somewhere in my Inktober stuff. Usually I save him for last or next-to-last, but I decided today was close enough.
Next to Frollo and Maleficent, he's my favorite Disney villain. He'd be at the top of the list if his appearance on-screen wasn't so short-lived, but in a way, the brevity of his appearance makes him that much more fascinating and frightening. Sometimes less really is more.
Personally, I feel the first few Disney movies show Disney and his crew at the top of their game. While I'll admit they can be a bit much for young children and even some adults, there's a certain boldness in Snow White, Pinocchio, and even Dumbo and Bambi that we just don't get anymore, least of all these days. When telling my own stories, I usually use these movies as my main inspiration and foundation, especially Pinocchio. Have plenty of sweet, feel-good moments, make everything work out okay in the end, but don't hold back (too much) with the dangerous, scary stuff and give your viewers a good reason to cry. For every laugh, there really should be a tear.
In any case, I can't hear "Night on Bald Mountain" anymore without seeing Chernabog's face, this my second most favorite segment of Fantasia (it's one of those mandatory Halloween clips for me) and Beowulf will take one look at this big bad guy and immediately run for the hills as fast as he can. Beowulf knows when he's outmatched and he doesn't dare mess with supernatural forces. Sometimes he knows when it's best to just flee for your life.
In fact, that's why he's not a complete villain and why sacred ground wouldn't affect him nearly as much as other werewolves. He knows the difference between good and evil, he doesn't try to excuse himself, and he has no tolerance for those who try to desecrate holy things. He knows God is good, he knows the Church is good, and he knows perfectly well evil is not a toy.
For that matter, this would make all the difference among werewolves. The only reason they can be called "monsters" in the first place is because most of them fully embrace this monstrous form. They actually like to terrorize people and they not only get used to murder but it becomes their twisted idea of fun. They decide, "Then let me be evil!"
If they did none of those things, if they all held themselves in check like Beowulf does, they'd really just be talking wolves who can only venture out at nighttime.
As Beowulf himself says, "Some are evil for evil's sake. Others are evil because the world leaves them no other option."
And whenever anyone dares to call Beowulf a monster to his face, he's far from offended but he silences them with this challenge, "You try living the way I do and see how long you last." Indeed, a lesser soul would have long since cracked like a nut.
That's partly what wins Reid, Malachi, and even Terence over. None of them can understand how Beowulf stands it, but the fact that he's made it this far is an incredible achievement, and there's good in him yet.
You could say, in the end, Beowulf gets the last laugh on the Devil himself. What a fine addition this noble little soul would have made to the Devil's collection, but instead, he gets a very last-minute opportunity to go to heaven after all and he doesn't let that opportunity go. He sometimes tells his victims before killing them, "Tell Satan I said hello. No doubt he'll have heard of me and is waiting for me."
Then the day finally comes when he can tell Satan to his very face, "The joke's on you, sucker!"
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