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| “ | Gentlemen, enchanté. A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier. How y'all doing? | „ |
| ~ Dr. Facilier first meeting Naveen and Lawrence. |
| “ | ♫Don't you disrespect me, little man! Don't you derogate or deride! You're in my world now, not your world And I got friends on the other side!♫ |
„ |
| ~ Dr. Facilier singing about who he is. |
Dr. Facilier, also known as "The Shadow Man", is the main antagonist of Disney's 49th full-length animated feature film The Princess and the Frog, which is based on the 2002 children's novel The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker and the German fairytale The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm.
He is an evil witch doctor/bokor and Lawrence's new employer who plans to rule New Orleans (and eventually, the entire world) with help from his "friends on the other side". Since his inception, Facilier has reached critical acclaim and major popularity with fans, making him one of Disney's most popular villains, in addition, to quickly becoming a primary member of the Disney Villains franchise. He is also Tiana and Naveen's arch-nemesis, the killer of Ray, and the one responsible for the former two being transformed into frogs.
He was voiced by Keith David, who also played Thel 'Vadam in the Halo video game franchise, Big Tim in Requiem for a Dream, Tublat in The Legend of Tarzan, Thailog in the Gargoyles series, Streaming in Regular Show, Malcolm Kane in Stretch Armstrong & the Flex Fighters, Julius Little as well as Himself in the Saints Row series, Atlas in Teen Titans, Lord Marmoo from Kulipari: Army of Frogs, Thrull from The Last Kids on Earth, King Andrias from Amphibia and Thel 'Vadam in Halo.
Personality[]
Facilier is a devious, manipulative, and treacherous bokor with "friends on the other side" that he deals with. Much like Ursula and Hades, he tricks his victims into making deals with him. He can read their past and present with his tarot cards; he then looks into their futures as well, and offers to "change it around some".
However, the deals that he makes usually backfire on the victim, though Facilier is unquestionably insincere and underhanded as he gives them exactly what he swore, even though it is not what his victims had in mind. For example, he tells Naveen he would need "green" (heavily implying green to mean money) if he wants a future with the freedom to "hop from place to place". However, upon making the deal, Facilier transforms Naveen into a frog, giving him both "green" and a way to "hop from place to place" in a more literal sense. This is one of many signs that he torments people for fun or at the very least, proves that he’s ready to torment others for a quick buck.
As Naveen puts it, Facilier is indeed persuasive, courteous, and charming, but also very stingy. An imperative and charismatic performer as Naveen acknowledges, Facilier is a smooth talker of drama and showmanship. A glutton for power, Facilier is ready to screw people over to get what he wants. In spite of his magic, Facilier believes that the real power in the world is not magic but money, "buckets of it" as he puts it. Thus, he’s ready to backstab or even kill anyone for a few bucks.
He confesses in the song "Friends on the Other Side" that he also has voodoo and "things he has not tried", indicating that he’ll work with anyone who can give him power. Like other Disney villains, he is highly Machiavellian, rational and snooty, as shown by his manipulation of Naveen, Lawrence and later Tiana into helping them under false pretenses. He appears to be quite infamous and disreputable throughout the city of New Orleans when Mama Odie said that it looks like someone made a deal with the Shadow Man. Tiana appeared to know who she was talking about.
Unlike most Disney Villains, such as Judge Claude Frollo, Facilier does not underestimate the powers of nature and like Mama Odie, he also knows that animals can talk and that they have minds just like humans. As shown when Ray the firefly tries to take the villainous voodoo doctor's talisman away from him, Facilier seems to comprehend Ray's intentions and tries to cease them. Also, knowing that Ray's bio-luminescent abdomen can eliminate his voodoo shadow demons, Facilier swats and crushes the firefly without hesitation, ending Ray's meddling.
Facilier has a shrunken head of his mother implying he killed her or keeps it to recall her in a loving way.
Despite his complete lack of morals and treacherous nature, Facilier's motivations are hinted at briefly. Facilier frequently sympathizes with the downtrodden and poor, implying that his own past might have been similar to Lawrence and Tiana. We see a glimpse of this when Big Daddy gives a little kid money but drives by Facilier without glancing at him (foreshadowing his comment to Lawrence about "fat cats not giving him a sideways glance."). He also never attempted to force Lawrence into villainy (and wasn't planning to double-cross his partner to keep all of the profits to himself, though he was going to get a greater sum in the bargain), though it was simple for him to do as Lawrence would have been previously pushed around by his family.
He also respected Tiana for dreaming big and sympathized with her father and promised to give her the restaurant she wanted and noticeably although he would have snatched the talisman from her while she was thinking he waited and let her make her choice. But overall, even if Tiana is frightened and sympathetic for Facilier when he got dragged by his Friends on the Other Side, Dr. Facilier is nothing more than a cruel, selfish and heartless con man who will endanger thousands if not millions of others for his greedy desires. His stinginess, lust for power, and lack of remorse or true care for anyone but himself is proof of this. The fact he was ready to endanger the poor in addition to the middle and higher-class makes him even worse than he already is.
Biography[]
Facilier is a voodoo witch doctor who often uses magic and trickery on the street to con customers out of their money, and also has a shadow that moves independently and interacts with him.
Facilier is first seen striking a deal with a bald man who wishes to grow hair on the busy streets of New Orleans. So Facilier makes it so by having the man's hair grow over his entire body, frightening both civilians and the man himself while amusing Facilier to the highest degree. However, Facilier's joy is short-lived as he witnesses Eli "Big Daddy" LaBouff, the richest man in New Orleans, give a huge amount of cash to the newspaper boy after receiving the newspaper. The envious Facilier and his shadow look in disgust, knowing there must be a way to make themselves just as wealthy as Mr. LaBouff.
Later on, Facilier goes to a café where he overhears the waitress Tiana and Big Daddy's flamboyant daughter named Charlotte talking about Prince Naveen of Maldonia coming to town due to marry the latter. Facilier gets an idea from the information heard and an evil plan begins to form.
Once Prince Naveen and his overworked valet, Lawrence arrive, Facilier invites the two to his Voodoo Emporium, using his charming, charismatic words to get Naveen and Lawrence to accept his deal. Once the deal is set, Facilier casts a curse on Prince Naveen that transforms him into a frog, after he captures some of the prince's blood in a voodoo talisman, and eventually then gives the talisman, which allows the wearer to assume the appearance of the person whose blood is stored within it, to the traitorous Lawrence. Believing that the only true power in the world is money rather than magic, Facilier plans to have Lawrence pose as Naveen and marry Charlotte LaBouff, the daughter of the extremely wealthy and powerful Big Daddy LaBouff; he would then kill Big Daddy to gain his power and split his fortune between himself and Lawrence (while secretly giving himself the larger sum).
Facilier and Lawrence imprison Naveen in a jar and put it in a cupboard, due to the fact that the blood level in the talisman needs to be constantly refilled in order to keep Lawrence posing as the prince. However, Lawrence loosens the lid on the jar so Naveen would have more air and Naveen escapes. Shortly after, he comes to a woman named Tiana. Believing she is a princess due to her costume, Naveen asks her to kiss him to break Facilier’s curse, promising a reward in return.
Tiana reluctantly does, but due to her not being an actual princess, she too falls victim to Facilier’s frog curse. Afterwards, they end up entangled in balloons, and float over to the Louisiana Bayou, which Facilier and Lawrence witness at the masquerade ball. Afterward, the two rush to the house where they left Naveen and find the jar empty. Facilier then scolds Lawrence for letting Naveen escape, who is having second thoughts about the villainous scheme, but Facilier persuades him to continue his part in the plan.
The next day, when the blood runs out in the talisman and Lawrence's disguise wears off (though not before proposing to Charlotte), Facilier is forced to make a deal with voodoo spirits to find and recapture Naveen in exchange for the souls of all of the people in New Orleans after he receives his fortune. Later, the voodoo spirits capture Naveen while he is with Tiana and return him to Facilier, who locks him up and prepares to go through with his plans.
Amidst the events, Facilier hides in the shadows waiting for the moment to kill Big Daddy with a voodoo doll just as Lawrence is about to marry Charlotte. However, Naveen's firefly friend Ray manages to save him and they stop the wedding just in time, retrieving the talisman in the process. Facilier and the spirits chase after them, and Ray hands Tiana the talisman before being fatally squashed by Facilier.
As Tiana threatens to destroy the talisman, Facilier quickly returns her to her human form and plays on her emotions. He shows the girl her dream restaurant, compliments her dreams and promises to make it a reality and restore her humanity in an attempt to persuade her to give his talisman back to him. He shows her every hard work she has endured and doubt from others that she has experienced for years, which somewhat causes her to become vulnerable. When he shows James, her late father, in struggling times, she becomes depressed and nearly gives him back his talisman. However, the discussion of James actually backfires on Facilier, as Tiana realizes that while her father never got what he wanted, he had what he needed, love, which was more important. With that, she denies the deal and attempts to destroy the talisman anyway, but Facilier's shadow catches it in time and hands it back to its master.
Reclaiming his talisman, Facilier then sinisterly laughs as he transforms Tiana back into a frog before using his staff to pin her down. He then tauntingly tells her that she should have agreed and claims that she will spend the rest of her life as a "slimy little frog," but this leads to his undoing.
After Tiana tells him that frogs are covered in mucus, not slime (which was what Naveen told her when she first became a frog), she regains the talisman with her elastic frog tongue, and finally smashes it on the ground. With his amulet destroyed, he loses any means by which he can pay back his debt, as he becomes horrified while collecting its broken pieces; Tiana takes the opportunity to hide just as Facilier's former spirit allies appear so that they can collect their debt.
He greets them jovially before they sing his song "Are you ready?", as he frantically pleas to them for more time, stating that he still had Naveen held captive as well having him in stuck in frog form. Despite telling them the truth, his pleas are ignored and as punishment for his failure, his soul is claimed by the Loa as payment. Facilier screams that he will pay them back before they gang up on him and drag him into Voodoo World.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Voodoo: Dr. Facilier is a bokor that performs left-handed or Petro Voodoo (the dark and stereotypical voodoo magic).
- Conjuration: Dr. Facilier can cast spells which can summon any form of creatures, items, spirits, demons, deities or elements. Thus, he can summon anything against those who he thinks is a threat.
- Voodoo Doll Creation: Dr. Facilier can create voodoo dolls of other beings to utilize in whatever way the user deems necessary.
- Memory Projection: Dr. Facilier is able to project the memories of oneself and others, either as holographic images or onto reflective surfaces. As shown it during the climax, he can use this power to trick others.
- Illusion Generation: Dr. Facilier can generate various types of illusions.
- Mystical Conversion: Dr. Facilier can turn others into another type of being through the use of magic of anyone's blood in his talisman.
- Spell-Casting: Dr. Facilier can cast spells, which is a procedure for producing specific magical effects through pink powder.
- Shadow Magic: Dr. Facilier able to perform a legendary form of magic that allows the user to cast magical spells and feats derived from shadows and darkness.
- Pilokinesis: Dr. Facilier has control over hair of others, allowing him to freely alter, grow out, change texture, color others hair through the pink powder.
- Umbrakinesis: Dr. Facilier create and manipulate darkness and shadows.
- Mediumship: Dr. Facilier can view ghosts/spirits of deceased and communicate and/or interact with them, even if they have possessed inanimate objects/subjects/people.
- Animated Shadow: Dr. Facilier can transform his shadows into living beings.
- Shadow Generation: Dr. Facilier can generate and project shadows and darkness which absorb or nullifies light in the area.
- Shadow Telekinesis: Dr. Facilier can manipulate objects using darkness/shadows.
- Darkness Symbiosis: Dr. Facilier can gain powers by hosting darkness/shadow-based beings/forces in one’s body.
- Fortune Telling: Dr. Facilier has the ability to foresee possible futures and observe what may happen through his tarot cards.
- Desire Intuition: Dr. Facilier has the ability to obtain instantaneous knowledge of other people's deepest desires.
- Kártakinesis: Dr. Facilier can create and manipulate his tarot cards.
- Future Manipulation: Dr. Facilier can control what will happen in the future; he can decide what he wants to happen and it will come true, although he cannot control when it happens.
- Cartomancy: Dr. Facilier can gain insight into the past, current, and possible future situations of the subject through his cards.
- Transmutation: Dr. Facilier can transform, alter or transmute matter, energy, elements, objects, beings (animals, aliens, mythical beings, etc.), etc into anything else, either completely or partially, permanently or temporarily.
- Animal Transmutation: Dr. Facilier can turn matter/others into any animal they desire, effects can be permanent or temporary depending on what level of power the user is. It is unknown if he himself can transform into an animal without any side effects.
Enemies[]
- Eli "Big Daddy" LaBouff - Archenemy On His Side and Attempted Victim
- Naveen- Archenemy and Attempted Victim
- Tiana- Archenemy, Attempted Victim and Indirect Killer
- Ray- Victim
- Louis
- Charlotte LaBouff- Attempted Victim
- The Friends on the Other Side (only at the end) and Killers
In other media[]
Once Upon a Time[]
- Main article: Dr. Facilier (Once Upon A Time)
Descendants[]
- Main article: Dr. Facilier (Descendants)
Disney Chills[]
- Main article: Dr. Facilier (Disney Chills)
Quotes[]
| “ | (Lawrence, disguised as Naveen, runs into his guest house to find the real Naveen gone) (Lawrence: Oh, dear! [Dr. Facilier silently appears behind him] OH! You're so quiet!) You let him go?! (Lawrence: The poor devil was gasping, so I loosened the lid ever so slightly! [gets tripped by Facilier's shadow, who laughs maliciously] How did I ever get tangled up this voodoo madness? I can't go through with this! [he yanks the necklace off and instantly turns back into his chubby self] You wear this-this ghastly thing!) (Lawrence throws the talisman) CAREFUL WITH THAT! (Facilier catches the talisman before it hits the floor) ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THIS, I'M GONNA BE--! (He raises his cane at Lawrence, who cowers. Facilier takes a moment to recompose himself.) Fun fact about voodoo, Larry. (Facilier puts the necklace on. Nothing happens.) Can't conjure a thing for myself. Besides, you and I both know the real power in this world ain't magic. It's money! (points at a portrait of Big Daddy LaBouff) Buckets of it. (Lawrence: That's true.) Aren't you tired of living on the margins, while all those fat cats in their fancy cars don't give you so much as a sideways glance? (Lawrence: Yes... I am!) All you gotta do is marry Big Daddy's little princess, and we'll be splitting that juicy LaBouff fortune...(he places the necklace back on Lawrence's neck, who turns back into Naveen's look-alike) ...right down the middle. 60-40, like I said. (Lawrence: Hmm...Yeah. But what about Naveen?) Your little slip-up will be a minor bump in the road, so long as we've got the prince's blood in this. | „ |
| ~ Facilier scolding Lawrence for letting Naveen escape coupled when Lawrence nearly destroys the magic talisman. As Facilier recomposes himself, he convinces Lawrence to continue cooperating with the evil plan by reminding him of his past of constant neglect and disrespect. He then explains the plan to marry Charlotte for her fortune by impersonating Naveen while wearing the magic necklace with Naveen's blood in it. |
| “ | (After barely avoiding being noticed by Charlotte as his disguise fades, Lawrence looks up to see Facilier appear before him. Facilier grabs the talisman and sees the remainder of Naveen's blood drain out) NO! (Lawrence fully transforms into his flabby self) (Lawrence: What do we do now?) Because somebody let our froggy prince go, Larry, I'm reduced to askin' for help from my Friends on the Other Side. | „ |
| ~ Facilier telling Lawrence that the former is forced to contact his Voodoo minions after the blood in the talisman runs out. |
| “ | Friends, I know I'm in hock to y'all pretty deep already. But seems our little froggy prince lost his way rand I need your generous assistance gettin' him back. (The Voodoo masks snarl; Facilier laughs nervously) Ha-HA! I hear ya! Now what's in it for y'all? Well... (he takes out a voodoo doll that resembles Mr. LaBouff) as soon as I dispose of Big Daddy LaBouff... (conjures a vision of the city) ... and I'm running this town... (snickers evilly) ... I'll have the entire city of New Orleans in the palm of my hand. And you'll have all the wayward souls your dark little hearts desire. (He blows over the envisioned townsfolk, whose souls fly into the nostrils of the masks.) Y'all love that, doncha? (chuckles) So, we got ourselves a deal? (The Voodoo Masks glance at each other. Then the leader opens his mouth and a horde of black, ghostly Shadow Demons flow out. Facilier cackles.) NOW WE'RE COOKIN'! We're gonna find ourselves a frog! Search everywhere! The bayou, the Quarter. Bring him to me alive! I need his heart pumping... for now. Alle! Tout de suite! (Facilier laughs evilly as the Shadow Demons leave on their search for Naveen.) | „ |
| ~ Facilier summoning Shadow Demons to find and retrive Prince Naveen for his evil plan. |
| “ | Now, isn't this a whole lot better than hopping around a bayou for the rest of your life? (Tiana: Shadow Man.) Gotta hand it to you, Tiana. When you dream, you dream big. Just look at this place! Gonna be the crown jewel of the Cresent City. And all you got to do, to make this reality. Is hand over that little old talisman of mine. (Tiana: No. This-this is not right.) Come on, darling? Think of everything you sacrificed. Think of all those naysayers who doubted you. And don't forget your poor daddy. Now, that was one hard-working man... double, sometimes triple shifts. Never letting on how bone-tired and beat down he really was. Shame all that hard work didn't amount much more than a busted up, old gumbo-pot and a dream that never get off the back porch. But you... you can give your poor daddy everything he ever wanted. Come on, Tiana... You're almost there. (Tiana: My Daddy never did get what he wanted. But he had what he needed. He had love. He never lost sight o' what was really important.) Easy with that! Careful! (Tiana: And neither will I!) (Tiana attempts to destroy the talisman, but Facilier's shadow grabs and returns it to him, who removes the restaurant illusion and turns Tiana back into a frog before pinning her down.) Y'all should've taken my deal. Now you're gonna spend the rest of your life being a slimy little frog! (Tiana: I've got news for you, Shadow Man! It's not slime, it's mucus!) (Facilier gasps as Tiana grabs the talisman with her prehensile tounge and destroys it.) No, NO!! (Facilier frantically picks up the pieces as Tiana hides.) How am I ever going to pay back my debt!? (Three masks break out of some gravestones, chanting) FRIENDS...! (Masks: Are you ready?) No! I'm not ready at all! In fact, I got lots of more plans! (Shrunken Heads: Are you ready?) This is just a minor setback in a major operation! (Voodoo dolls burst out of the ground, carrying drumsticks. He shrieks) Soon as I whip another spell, we'll be back in business! I've still got that froggy prince locked away. I just need a little more time! (The tombstone transforms into a huge, demonic mask. He squeals) No. No please, no! (A demon grabs his shadow and starts to pull him toward the mask's mouth. He yelps in surprise.) Just a little more time! (as the demons continue chanting) I promise I'll pay y'all back! I PROMISE! (Facilier screams as he and the voodoo masks are pulled into the mask's mouth. When it closes, there is an explosion and Tiana sees a tombstone with "FACILIER" engraved on it as well as his horrified expression.) | „ |
| ~ Dr. Facilier tempting Tiana with her dream in order to get his talisman back from her, only for her to destroy the talisman, causing Facilier to literally be dragged by his "friends" to their side to be tormented for all eternity as punishment for his failure to repay his debt. |
Trivia[]
- Dr. Facilier was inspired by the late treasured jazz singer Cab Calloway. In addition, the way that Facilier moves is similar to that of Calloway's.
- Dr. Facilier is the first animated African-American Disney villain.
- The name "Facilier" means "easier" in the ancient Latin langauge. Given Facilier's tendency to offer the easy way out, it is unsurprising.
- He is one of the few Disney Villains in the Disney revival era to die along with Mother Gothel, Turbo, Arthur and King Runeard, as well as the first one.
- He has a shrunken head of his mom implying that he killed her or he keeps it to remember her in a loving way.
- Facilier has one of the darkest Disney villain defeats, being graphically dragged away to the voodoo world.
- In some books and novelizations, Facilier is not sucked into the voodoo mask after the destruction of the voodoo amulet, but swallowed by his shadows (the voodoo dolls are not seen in this scene), leaving only his hat. It's unknown why this was done or if it reflects an early draft of the script.
- Dr. Facilier's design, especially in the end of "Friends on the Other Side" that shows him with a skull makeup on his face shows that he is loosely based on Baron Samedi, the Haitian Loa of Death.
- In the Descendants series, Facilier is living on The Isle of the Lost and appears as the headmaster of the VK's school Dragon Hall and in the Wicked World TV series, Facilier is shown to have a daughter named Freddie of whom he had run the Voodoo store that he owned and gave her voodoo dolls, he is so caught up in his work and obsession with ghosts that he does not even know her own birthday as well. He would also steal various items from his fellow villains and hide them in his store as revealed in season 2 of Wicked World.
- Facilier is the fourth Disney villain to have French origins.
- In an earlier script, Dr. Facilier would not just be a dark wizard who wants to conquer New Orleans with the help of his friends, he would have been Mama Odie's son, who followed the path of the dark arts, unlike his mother. In this same script, there was to be a showdown between the two of them, which would have converged into a major battle during the Mardi Gras.
- Facilier is the first Disney villain to not have a particular entrance of his own, instead of appearing in the opening song in a casual way.
- Facilier and Tiana never meet until the film's climax, though she knows of his reputation and he knows of her father (most likely through the cards).
- Dr. Facilier is the only character in the film who refers to himself as such. Everyone else simply calls him "(the) Shadow Man". Dr. Facilier's first name is never revealed, and it was not shown in the film.
- Dr. Facilier acts as a foil to Naveen, as they are both characters who desire to become fabulously wealthy and are unwilling to earn it through hard work, unlike Tiana. While Naveen is only willing to resort to marrying Charlotte and inheriting her fortune, Dr. Facilier is willing to resort to murdering Eli "Big Daddy" LaBouff to achieve his goals. As the film progresses, Naveen learns from Tiana and Mama Odie that he has to work to get what he wants and that love is what he truly needs to be happy, not wealth. Dr. Facilier, on the other hand, never realizes the error of his ways and his obsession with money and power leads to his downfall. Thus, Dr. Facilier serves as an example as to what Naveen would have become if he had never met Tiana or Mama Odie.
- Bruce W. Smith describes Facilier as the love child of the Disney villains, Captain Hook and Cruella De Vil.
- In "Friends on the Other Side", Dr. Facilier mentions that he's of royal blood from his mother's side of his family tree.
External Links[]
- Dr. Facilier on the Villains Wiki
- Dr. Facilier on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Dr. Facilier on the Disney Wiki
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 Villains
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Friends on the Other Side Louisiana Bayou | ||