Dr. Facilier

Doctor Facilier, also known as The Shadow Man, is the main antagonist of Disney's 2009 feature film The Princess and the Frog. He is an evil bokor (Witch Doctor) who plans to rule New Orleans with help from his "Friends on the Other Side". Since his inception, Facilier has reached critical acclaim and with Disney fans, making him one of Disney's most popular villains. He is voiced by Keith David.

Doctor Facilier is the main villain in The Princess and the Frog. Sinister and charismatic, he is a voodoo master of dark magic that turns Naveen into a frog, and schemes to use this advantage to take over land and become the richest man in the town. Keith David, the voice of Facilier, describes Facilier as "a schemer, a conjurer and a sorcerer of sorts". He has a song in the movie called "Friends on the Other Side". Like his polar opposite, Mama Odie the voodoo priestess, who serves as the film's fairy godmother, Facilier serves as the film's witch (bokor: a voodoo magician who practices both black and white magic).

Personality
Facilier is a scheming bokor with "Friends on the Other Side". Much like Ursula and Hades, Facilier 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 'round some." However, the deals he makes usually backfire on the victim, though Facilier isn't exactly dishonest as he does give them exactly what he promised, even though it isn't what his victims had in mind. For example, he told Naveen that if he wanted a future with the freedom to "hop from place to place," he would need "green" (heavily implying green to mean money.) However, upon making the deal, Facilier transformed Naveen into a frog, giving him both "green" and a way to "hop from place to place" in a more literal sense.

As Naveen says, Facilier is indeed suave, smooth-talking and often charming, but also cruel, remorseless and sadistic. A charismatic performer as Naveen acknowledges, Facilier is a smooth-talker of drama and showmanship. A glutton for power, Facilier controlling and vindictive, doing whatever he can to get what he wants. Like other Disney villains, he is highly Machiavellian as shown by his manipulation of Naveen, Lawrence, and later Tiana into helping them under false pretenses. Unlike most Disney Villains such as McLeach and 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 have understood his intentions, and tried to cease them. Also knowing that Ray's bioluminescent abdomen can destroy his voodoo shadow demons, Facilier, without hesitation, swats and crushes the firefly, ending Ray's interference.

Despite this complete lack of morals and a treacherous nature, Facilier's motivations are hinted at briefly. Facilier frequently sympathizes with the downtrodden or poor, implying that his own past may have been similar to Lawrence and Tiana.

Physical Appearance
Facilier bears many physical traits that are similar to Jafar, such as being tall, skinny, mustached; and dressed in very linear black-and-red clothing. Facilier has purple eyes, and a thin mustache, as well as a gap between his front teeth. He has long, boney fingers, and lanky arms and legs.

Dressed as the infamous Loa of the dead, Baron Samedi, Doctor Facilier wears a top hat with a purple feather in it and a skull and crossbones on it; the skull can be magically removed and change into a skull make-up as shown in "Friends on the other side". Under his top hat, instead of being bald or having a comb-over, Facilier has a huge hairdo to fit in his hat, also to many villians are seen to have hair like he does. Around his neck, he wears a necklace with two crocodile teeth. Facilier wears a dark maroon undertaker tailcoat and black pants, white spats over black shoes, a purple vest under his coat that doesn't entirely cover his midriff, and a red cummerbund. One might say he somewhat looks and performs like a showman. Like most Disney Villains, Facilier wears mostly purple, red, and black in his clothing.

He wields a cane with a purple globe on top, possibly a crystal ball, though it is never revealed. Facilier seems to use his cane for show performances, a tool, or a weapon. He carries a voodoo talisman, which is the fragile source of his powers. As shown, only a person besides Facilier, who wears the talisman, becomes who ever they want, provided it has a particular person's blood.

Facilier is accompanied by his sidekick shadow that actually has a life and personality of its own, being able to move of its own free will and move objects like the voodoo shadow spirits. It is possible that his shadow is a similar spirit given to Facilier by his "Friends," though as it fears the same fate that will befall Facilier if he cannot pay back his debt, it is perhaps a more personal creation of the doctor; it is absolutely obedient to his wishes and seems to reflect his mood at several points.

Powers and Abilities
Facilier is a bokor that performs left-handed or Petro Voodoo (the dark and stereotypical voodoo magic). He is a conjurer and sorcerer of sorts, possessing powerful voodoo magic capable of accomplishing nearly anything. He can see into the past of a person and see what people desire the most. He is proficient in sleight of hand, effortlessly shuffling, twisting and manipulating his deck of tarot cards. He is a skilled conjurer as well, being able to pull his staff and tarot deck out of nothing (although this may also be attributed to sleight of hand.) His tarot cards possess strange properties: the images on them seem to change, reflecting the desires of Facilier's victims (such as when Tiana's restaurant picture appeared on a card in the deck.) The cards usually show his victims their future in a positive light; however, they are unable to corrupt the truth entirely and usally include a clue as to the victim's real fate (for example, when Naveen sees his future filled with "green," he fails to see the lilypad made of money in the background). Facilier is also shown casting spells through use of a strange pink powder. The effects of this powder include the reversal of the frog spell on Tiana, a man spontaneously growing hair (then having it sprout all over him), producing puffs of smoke that display memories, and the creation of a full scale rendition of Tiana's dream restaurant (although it is possible that what he works with the powder are only illusions). His Voodoo Emporium is shown to be filled with strange objects and voodoo paraphenila (some of which he admits that he "aint even tried") including shrunken heads and voodoo dolls which seem to come alive, chant, and beat drums when Facilier is about to perform his biggest spells. The dolls also serve a practical application - he has a voodoo doll of 'Big Daddy' La Bouff primed and ready for the moment he can get his hands on the rich man's fortune.

Facilier's shadow acts as a familiar and is capable of moving on its own, being able to separate itself from him for a short while as well as changing its shape and size. Furthermore, his shadow can affect other things through their own shadows - such as when it plucked Naveen and Lawerence's hats off their heads, or when it pushed the shadow of Facilier's chair up so Facilier could sit down. It also seems to reflect Facilier's current mood, such as when it was shown biting it's nails when Facilier was starting to worry about what would happen if Naveen wasn't found (although considering it would share Facilier's fate, it was probably showing its own concern). Later on, Facilier makes a bargain so he can call upon an army of fiendish shadow minions to do his bidding, with similar powers to his shadow. These shadows came in many shapes and forms which they can alter while moving. Being shadows, they are capable of squeezing through anything and travel along any surface, including water. Their only true weakness is light, as seen when Mama Odie destroyed a gang of them to save Naveen and when Ray used his light to inflict some damage on a few of them. However, in these cases, the light was shined directly at them, meaning they can probably withstand indirect light. When not serving Facilier, the shadow demons hide in other shadows until Faciler calls for their aid again.

Facilier's powers stem primarily from his "Friends" on the Other Side: these "friends" of his are in fact a multitude of dark voodoo spirits (known as 'Loa') which appear in the forms of voodoo masks in his Voodoo Emporium. While he does call upon them for help, he is in actuality deeply indebted to them already (the nature of which is never explained), and secretly fears them. Facilier's powers seem to stem from a voodoo talisman - a gift from the Other Side, given to him by his "Friends." The amulet seems to be capable of transformation spells in two manners. It can pinch someone with its mouth-like compartment, inflicting a transformation spell on the victim while at the same time, being able to take a sample of their blood. After taking in a blood sample, the talisman allows its wearer (except Facilier) to take on the appearance of the blood doner. However, in order for this transformation to last, the talisman must be constantly refilled with the victim's blood, otherwise it will run out and the wearer will slowly revert back to his original appearance as the last of the blood is drained out. Furthermore, this talisman is also crucial to his magic; without it, he seems to be powerless. So much of his power is invested in this amulet, in fact, should it be destroyed he would be unable to continue doing the bidding of his "Friends," making him unable to work off his debt to them - and prompting them to claim him as payment instead.

Curiously, despite having great power, the nature of his voodoo leaves Dr. Facilier unable to conjure a thing for himself. Instead, he must rely on trickery and guile to manipulate other people into doing what he wants. The nature of his power seems to stem around making deals; he only gains full access to his voodoo when fulfilling someone else's wishes (although he can usually twist them to suit his own ends) or tempting them. Luckily (for him), Facilier is a master of deceit, with charm and persuasion being second nature to him.

Role in the film
Facilier is first seen striking a deal with a man who wishes to grow hair. So, Facilier makes it so by having hair grow over his entire body frighting civilians and himself. Later on, Facilier overhears Tiana an Charlotte talking about a prince coming to town who is due to marry her. Facilier, needing money, gets an idea. Once Prince Naveen and his valet Lawrence arrive, he takes them to his parlor to strike deals. For Naveen, he promises to give freedom and green while with Lawrence, he offers him to have the chance to be in Naveen's shoes. The deal is complete with a handshake having Naveen being turned into a frog and while Lawrence is recruited in Facilier's scheme to become incredibly wealthy and dominate New Orleans. Naveen is trapped in a jar but escapes and being left alone with the hapless Lawrence. He goes off and meets Tiana who he believes to be a princess. Following the storyline of The Frog Prince, they kiss and Tiana also becomes a frog. The two end up on a balloon floating into the bayous after a chase with Charlotte's dog. Facilier confronts Lawrence about Naveen's escape but as long as they have Naveen's blood in a talisman, Lawrence will retain his Naveen form and marry Charlotte. Soon enough however, the blood begins to run out and Lawrence's Naveen form is abolished. Facilier must ask for help from his "friends on the other side". The "friends" send Shadow Demons to be minions of Facilier. He orders them to search around for Naveen. After a day, they find him, taking him to Facilier and Lawrence. The blood is restored and the plan continues.

The wedding occurs that night. Facilier plans to murder Charlotte's father Big Daddy the moment she and Lawrence and pronounced man and wife. Fortunately, Naveen escapes yet again and prevents this. The talisman is obtained by Naveen and given to his friend Ray the firefly. Facilier and the shadows chase after Ray while Naveen is being held captive by Lawrence. Ray gives the talisman to Tiana. Facilier tries to make a switch. He'll grant Tiana's dreams to open a restaurant if she gives him his voodoo trinket. She denies and destroys it. Facilier's "friends" arrive to take his soul due to his failure. A horrified Facilier attempts to escape but is dragged away via his living shadow. In a great explosion, Facilier and his "friends" vanish leaving only a tombstone with Facilier horrified face on it behind.

Backstage
Doctor Facilier is voiced by veteran voice actor, Keith David, known to many as Goliath from the Disney melodrama animated show, Gargoyles. His chief animator is Bruce Smith who chooses to animate Dr. Facilier because "for every lead character to shine, they must have an equally entertaining adversary." Bruce Smith even describes Facilier as the love child of the Disney Villains Captain Hook and Cruella De Vil.

"Friends on the Other Side"
Unlike many Disney Villains, who always have minions that do their every whim or suffer their masters' wrath, Dr. Facilier is the second villain to have minions that actually become the threat to him (the first is Scar from "The Lion King," who promises the hyenas the Pridelands, but he is later on killed by them after he betrays them.) His "Friends on the Other Side" are Petro Loa that seem to be the real villains of the movie, and are initially the ones responsible for the voodoo bokor acquiring his black magic. They are in the form of the Gris-Gris in his dark emporium, such as masks, voodoo dolls, shrunken heads, and shadows, and are planning to feast upon the wayward souls of New Orleans.

During Facilier's musical number Friends on the Other Side, the Loa sing a tiny bit in the beginning, and stay camouflaged until the end after Naveen and Lawrence shake Facilier's hands in agreement for their dreams to come true. The Masks chant, the Voodoo Dolls beat drums with their needles and dance as Facilier whips out a talisman given to him by what seems to be the 'Head' Mask Loa, a horned mask that is much larger than the other Loa. After nipping Naveen's finger, the prince turns into a frog, and Facilier makes Lawrence his partner-in-crime by disguising the envious manservant as Naveen. Later on, when Facilier asks help from his "Friends" to retrieve Naveen when he escaped, the doctor proposes a deal with the incensed Loa that once he takes over New Orleans, he will hand over all the souls of the citizens to the gluttonous spirits. Enticed by the offer, the 'Head' Mask summons voodoo shadows to do Facilier's bidding, his first being to retrieve Naveen.

Finally, during the climax at the Lafayette Cemetery, after Tiana smashes Facilier's talisman, the sinister Petro Loa come out from hiding, reprising "Friends on the Other Side," and prepare to take the frightened bokor away to the spirit world. Despite his pleas, the Loa corner Facilier to a grave that takes the form of the 'Head' Mask, which as it turns out to also be the Hellmouth to the Voodoo Underworld. Dr. Facilier tries to escape, but his "Friends" snare his shadow, thus dragging him into the awaiting mouth of the Mask Loa. As the evil Facilier and his shadow disappear inside the Mask's mouth, the rest of the Loa get sucked back into their world, just as the 'Head' Mask closes its jaws, and too vanishes in a flash of light. This is the last time Dr. Facilier and his "Friends" are seen through the remainder of the film.

Songs
Dr. Facilier's most notable song is Friends on the Other Side. But in the music CD, Bayou Boogie, he has three more songs.
 * Friends on the Other Side
 * Do What I Wanna Do
 * Shadow Man
 * Love is a Magical Mystery

Facilier's background in books
Facilier's situation is the one thing that does not make itself very clear in the book merchandise. Though his clues about his deals with his Friends on the Other Side is obvious, his revelation of his future consequences are not entirely mentioned. And finally, Facilier has a much different demise in books than in the movie. Tiana smashes the talisman during her dream restaurant, instead of doing it after being turned back into a frog after her first failed attempt. Once there, Tiana's hallucination disappears and she is turned back into a frog. While the talisman serves as a tool of Facilier's powers in the movie and novel, in some books it is what Facilier uses it as means of controlling the Shadows, thus he loses that control, and the evil spirits turn on him. Soon his Friends on the Other Side arrive and order the Shadows to remove the frightened Facilier. The Shadows immediately surround Facilier and spin rapidly around him until they finally disappear, along with the evil Loa, and Doctor Facilier as well. All that is left of him is his top hat.

How these differences existed in the books but not in the movie is unknown, though some believe these were the original plans, but were changed for the final film.

Disney Parks
Facilier has made his debut as a meetable character at the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort mid 2009. He is currently a semmi-common meet and greet character but rather common in several shows and entertainment.

Facilier plays a starring role in Disney's Maleficious Halloween Party and Mickey and his Magic Halloween Night as well.

On the Disney Fantasy, Facilier is the secret villain behind the missing paintings in the attraction "Midship Detective Agency". Mickey, Donald and Goofy track him down and successfully puts him behind bars where the shadow demons taunt him for his failure.

Tiana's Showboat Jubiliee
Faciler appears in the temporary show in Disneyland and Walt Disney World's, Magic Kingdom. Facilier attempts to trick Naveen yet again with his voodoo.

Disney Villains Mix and Mingle
In 2011, Facilier became the lead villain of the show and performs Friends On the Other Side at the opening for the show. After the song, Facileir summons several Disney Villains and together they have a dance. Right after, a meet and greet with the watching guest follows.

World of Color
Facilier appears in the live nighttime water show at Disney California Adventure. Facilier appears during the villains scene know as "Colors of Fear" as a cameo appearance.

Disney Dreams
Dr. Facilier (or at least his shadow) encounters Peter Pan's shadow and begins to sing Friends on the Other Side, leading to the castle taking on a mechanized appearance and eventually leading to the arrival of Captain Hook.

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
At Walt Disney World, Facilier revived from the dead by Hades and is recruited to find the legendary crystal of the Magic Kingdom. Facilier also decides to extract revenge on Tiana for his demise and take over New Orleans. He assigns his shadows to find the crystal and frees Lawrence from prison to poison the food at Tiana's Palace having the citizens of New Orleans under his control. Meanwhile, he kidnaps Tiana but while he has a conversation with Hades, Tiana is freed by the park guest. Facilier retrieves the crystal and plans on getting Tiana after he becomes ruler of the city. Facilier battles the park guest after Lawrence and his shadows were defeated. Facilier himself is turned into a frog and taken back to the Underworld as a result of his failure.

Trivia

 * Facilier also claims to practice Hoodoo, or traditional folk magic.
 * Facilier is the only Disney male villian to have Violet colored eyes, and one of the few Disney characters to possess such. The only other characters being Megara, Aurora, and Vanessa.
 * Like most Disney Villains, Facillier wears mostly purple, red, and black in his clothing.
 * Facilier also shares many similarities to Ursula the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid:
 * Both being in Disney movies based on classic fairy tales and taking on the role of the one who transformed the titular character of those stories.
 * Both, despite being powerful practitioners, are outcasts who despise those that are more powerful than them (Big Daddy La Bouff, King Triton) and are driven by their desire to take that power for themselves throughout their respective films.
 * Both operating a business where they claim to use their powers to help make the dreams of others come true, when in reality, they do what they do for their own benefit and enjoyment, ultimately double crossing their victims and ruining their lives.
 * Both being known and feared by those they terrorize, and both singing songs ('Friends On The Other Side, 'Poor Unfortunate Souls') to entice the protagonist into accepting a deal with them (both, ironically, being royals i.e Prince Naveen and Princess Ariel), and their songs ending with the protagonist undergoing a magical transformation (Naveen turning into a frog, Ariel becoming human).
 * Both using a mystical amulet as part of the transformation process of the protagonist which takes something from the protagonist (Naveen's blood, Ariel's voice), then said amulet is used again as a part of their master plan which involves another mystical transformation (this one being more of a disguise) and marriage, only for said plans falling apart when the amulet is destroyed (interestingly, in the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid, Ursula's shell served as the life source of her powers, much like Facilier's voodoo talisman, and like Facilier, met her demise when her talisman was smashed. What's more interesting is that in both cases, it was the female protagonist, both being a princess, that destroyed the talisman), the only difference being that Ursula transformed herself into Vanessa, and Facilier turned a disgruntled servant of Naveen into Naveen.
 * Both having henchmen who are shown to be competent (Faciler's shadows, Flotsam and Jetsam)
 * Facilier shares many common points with Scar from The Lion King too:
 * They both act in order to take the control of a geographic place (Pride Land for Scar, New Orleans for Facilier)
 * They use simplicity's people to achieve their goals (Simba's in Scar's case, his customers for Facilier)
 * They have a dedicated song in their respective movie where they praise their skills ("Be Prepared" for Scar, "Friends on the Other Side" for Facilier).
 * They both kill a character who's in the good side (Mufasa for Scar, Ray for Facilier).
 * They are beaten (killed in Scar's case, dragged to hell in Facillier's case) by an entity which they used as henchmen: the hyenas for Scar, the Voodoo spirits for Facilier.
 * Similarly, both characters also had concepts that changed them for varying reasons regarding potential lineage to a major character in development (Scar was intended to simply be a rogue lion who killed Mufasa, but it was changed during development to be the brother of Mufasa. Likewise, Facilier was originally intended to be Mama Odie's son and intended to fight her during Mardi Gras, but he was relegated to simply being a dark voodoo sorcerer).
 * Facilier shares common points with Jafar from Aladdin as well:
 * They both can manipulate others into doing their bidding.
 * They both are tall, have dark skin, are skinny and long facial structures.
 * They both wear tall hats, each weilds a staff and wear outfits that consist of red, black and purple clothing.
 * They both act in order to take control of a geographic place (Agrabah for Jafar, New Orleans for Facilier)
 * They both take royals as prisoners at one point. (Prince Naveen, Princess Jasmine)
 * They both betray a lead protagonist who trusted them at one point. (Prince Naveen, The Sultan)
 * Both being revived by Hades outside their films. (in Hercules: Hercules and the Arabian Night in Jafar's case; in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom in Facilier's case). Ironically, Jafar ends up being dragged below the River Styx when his revival is completely halted with the destruction of his staff in Hercules and the Arabian Night, and Facilier ends up being dragged to Voodoo Hell when his talisman is destroyed in his film.
 * Both also die as a result of a magical object being destroyed that is implied to be what lets them live (Jafar died when his lamp melted due to the lamp being his life-source as a genie in Return of Jafar, and was later "re-killed" when his staff was broken and dragged down the River Styx in Hercules and the Arabian Night, and Facilier is dragged to the Voodoo version of Hell due to the demons interpreting the destruction of his talisman as failure to live up to his promise).
 * Facilier shows a few commonalities with Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove
 * They are both orginally trusted by the movies main protagonist. (Naveen and Kuzco)
 * They are both in movies adapted and loosely based on classic fairy tales.
 * They both transform a Royal main character into an animal. (Frog/Naveen, Llama/Kuzco)
 * They both are comedic villians.
 * They both have a bumbling character part of the royal court that does there bidding. (Lawrence, Kronk)
 * They both despise those with more power than they have. (Big Daddy, Kuzco)
 * They both turn into animals. (Facilier turns into a frog in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, Yzma turns into a cat at the end of the movie)
 * They both, at least at one point, attempted to draw a geographic area into eternal darkness (Yzma, in an original draft of The Emperor's New Groove, attempted to draw Kuzco's kingdom into eternal darkness via an ancient demon in order to preserve her youth, and Facilier was to sell all the souls of New Orleans to his "Friends of the Other Side" in exchange for power.)
 * Facillier is the second Disney villian to be killed by a Disney heroine in their debut film. (Shan Yu is the first)
 * Facilier is the third Disney Villain to tempt a Disney Princess (Tiana) with an offer to make her dreams come true; the first two being the Queen from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and Ursula from "The Little Mermaid", tempting Snow White and Ariel, respectively. Unlike them, however, his offer doesn't work on Tiana, who finally realized what mattered.
 * The way Facilier moves is quite similar to Michael Jackson's dancing movements.
 * 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's ultimate downfall is very dark: When he loses the method he needs to pay back his debt to his "Friends", they take his soul as collateral and drag him into their world - In other words, Facilier was dragged into Hell.
 * Facilier was originally named Dr. Duvalier, and was originally a voodoo magician and fortune teller.
 * Facilier is the first black Disney Villain and the fourth to be French or have French origins.
 * Facilier appears to resemble Baron Samedi, the Haitian voodoo Loa of the dead. He wore a top hat, a tuxedo, and other accessories. He too has associations with voodoo spirits. It may be presumed that Facilier is a worshipper of Samedi.
 * Aspects of Facilier's appearance are shared by shock-rock singer Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
 * Facilier is the first Disney Villain not to have a particular entrance of his own, instead appearing in the opening song in a casual way.
 * Dr. Facilier is the only character in the film who refers to himself as such. Everyone else simply calls him "Shadow Man".
 * Despite being one of the most recent Disney Villain Songs, the Nostalgia Critic put Facilier's song "Friends On The Other Side" in his "Top 11 Villains Songs". he also said if Dr. Facilier came sooner, he would have definitely put him on his "Top 11 Disney Villains" list.

Gallery
El Doctor Facilier