Yen Sid

Yen Sid is a powerful sorcerer and teacher of Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a segment of the 1940 hybrid film Fantasia. In both the Kingdom Hearts series and Epic Mickey, his voice is provided by Corey Burton.

Though he was amongst the most obscure Disney characters of all time 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.

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 backwards which pays tribute to Walt.

Physical Description
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.

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.

His past is never looked upon with the exception of the Kingdom Hearts continuity. Years before Sora, the sorcerer was a keyblade wielder but eventually retired or as he puts it "doffed that mantle."

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. Most other abilities to this day are unknown.

Fantasia
The great sorcerer first appeared in the Fantasia short, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, as Mickey Mouse's master. He was the owner of a magical hat, which is apparently the source of his power. In the short, Yen Sid is preforming magic while a young Mickey Mouse completes his chores. Satisfied with his work, the sorcerer puts down his hat retiring for the night. During his absence, Mickey takes the hat and begins to play with the magic. He creates a living broom and orders it to take water and place it in a fountain (which is Mickey's chore). After falling asleep Mickey awakens to see the broom flooding the tower. Mickey chops up the broom but this only creates several more. The tower is nearly flooded completely until the powerful Yen Sid returns from his chambers and stops the chaos. Yen Sid is then furious that Mickey had disobeyed him, Mickey returns the hat to his angry master as he slowly goes to finish his chores. Yen Sid shows a small smirk at Mickey, who gives a weak smile and to make sure the apprentice has learned his lesson, the wizard smacks him once in the buttocks with the now inanimate broom making Mickey get his chores done a lot faster.

Fantasia 2000
Yen Sid reappears in the sequel and lives out the same role in the original. His sequence in the Fantasia sequel being the only sequence from the original film to appear in the new film.