| “ | No, WE'RE doomed unless we get that frog's blood in! | „ |
| ~ Facilier to Lawrence before the shadows bring Naveen back |
| “ | A tip of the hat from Doctor Facilier. | „ |
| ~ Dr. Facilier |
Dr. Facilier, also known as The Shadow Man, is the main antagonist in the 2009 Disney film The Princess and the Frog.
He is voiced by Keith David.
Biography
Facilier is a voodoo witch doctor who often uses magic and trickery on the street to con customers out of their money. He also has a shadow that moves independently and interacts with him. Facilier is responsible for transforming Prince Naveen into a frog, after he captures some of the prince's blood in a voodoo talisman. Facilier then gives the talisman, which allows the wearer to assume the appearance of the person whose blood is stored within it, to Naveen's traitorous aide 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 Big Daddy LaBouff; he would then kill Big Daddy and split his fortune between himself and Lawrence. Facilier imprisons Naveen due to the fact that the blood level in the talisman needs to be constantly refilled each time Lawrence poses as the prince. However, Naveen escapes, and Facilier is forced to make a deal with voodoo spirits to find and recapture Naveen in exchange for the souls of all the people in New Orleans after he receives his fortune.
Later, the voodoo spirits capture Naveen while he is with Tiara (who is also in frog form) and return him to Facilier, who locks him up and prepares to kill Big Daddy with a voodoo doll just as Lawrence is about to marry Charlotte. 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 Tiara the talisman before being fatally squashed by Facilier. As Tiana threatens to destroy the talisman, Facilier returns her to her human form and plays on her emotions and dreams to persuade her to give it back to him. She attempts to destroy the talisman anyway, but Facilier's shadow catches it and hands it back to its master. Facilier then laughs with sinister cheer as he transforms Tiana back into a frog, but using her tongue, she takes the talisman back again and smashes it on the ground. When his amulet is destroyed he loses the means by which he can pay back his debt, and as such his soul is claimed by the Loa as payment and he is dragged, screaming, into their world. Contrary to what some believe, however, this is not 'being dragged into Hell' as the Loa are not demons, nor do they have any relation to the Christian concept of Hell.
Personality
Dr. Facilier is very charismatic, and uses his black magic to find people's greatest desires. He also speaks with great fluency and confidence. Those qualities made it easy for him to trick Prince Naveen into coming into his lair and turn him into a frog. Dr. Facilier, also being a knowledgeable man, easily convinced Lawrence to agree to help Facilier in his plan to take over New Orleans.
Trivia
- Dr. Facilier was inspired by treasured jazz singer Cab Calloway.
- He has some similarities to Krudsky from Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King and Stromboli from Pinocchio.
- Dr. Facilier's design, especially in the end of "Friends on the Other Side" that shows him with a skull make-up on his face shows that he is loosely based from Baron Samedi, the Haitian Loa of Death.
Gallery
