Lawrence (The Princess and the Frog)

"Aren't you tired of living on the margins?! Where all those fat cats in their fancy cars don't give you so much as a sideways glance..."

- Facilier to Lawrence.

Lawrence is the (former) royal valet of Prince Naveen and the secondary antagonist from Disney's 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog. He often grows impatient with Prince Naveen's childishness. Naveen honestly didn't treat him nicely but wasn't unfriendly to him. He serves as the anti hero, later secondary antagonist. He was voiced by Peter Bartlett.

Background
Because of his accent and name, Lawrence likely originates from England and was merely hired to become a royal valet in Maldonia, rather than being born there. His interactions with Facilier reveal that he comes from a peasant background and has a mother, brother and sister who push him around. Possibly he fled England to get away from them. Facilier foreshadows that Lawrence will be pushed around by his wife if he marries - that might still happen, since Lawrence merely got arrested at the end of the film, and has actually committed no punishable crimes apart from, perhaps, impersonating a royalty.

Design
Lawrence was animated by Disney artist Anthony DeRosa. According to directors Ron Clements and John Musker on the film's DVD audio commentary, Lawrence was designed to resemble past Disney character Mr. Smee from Peter Pan. Lawrence is a short, nearly elderly man in a suit with a classic bowler hat to match the 1920s era in which the film takes place.

Animator and character designer, Randy Haycock, stated he designed Lawrence to have rodent-like qualities, to symbolize the fact that he was a "rat".

Personality
Though he serves as a villain in the film, Lawrence isn't evil by design, and is driven to villainy out of constant neglect and disrespect throughout his life. He's easily annoyed by Naveen's laziness and rambunctious antics and voices his opinions on the matter frequently, only to be ignored by the formerly selfish prince time and time again. Not only that, due to Naveen, Lawrence is often publicly humiliated, another reason for his eventual treachery. All these factors would eventually lead Lawrence down a dark path, and it has been shown that he someday wishes to overthrow Naveen to have a taste of the power and respect he believes he deserves.

Even after his deal with Dr. Facilier, however, Lawrence's true nature (one ultimately gentle and sympathetic) overcomes his villainy occasionally, as he was seen with a hint of guilt for betraying Naveen thrice; first during Naveen's transformation into a frog, second, when he loosened the lid of the jar the young prince was imprisoned in, not wanting to suffocate him, and finally when he made an attempt to revoke his deal with Facilier, only to be manipulated into continuing on with the wicked witch doctor's plot.

Arriving in New Orleans
Lawrence is first seen arriving in New Orleans alongside Naveen via riverboat. Reason being, the prince has been cut off from his parents' royal fortune, and must find a way to marry back into wealth.

Sometime after disembarking, however, the overworked valet loses the prince, but eventually finds him in the streets of the French Quarter, dancing and partying with the locals. Knowing they're supposed to meet with Charlotte La Bouff (whom Naveen is set to woo and marry) and her father, Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff, Lawrence urges the prince to end his festivities, only to be publicly humiliated by Naveen's sassy remarks and actions.

A Change of Fate
After the commotion, the duo encounter a shadowy figure; a witch doctor by the name of Dr. Facilier, who leads them to his lair in an alley. The doctor manipulates Naveen into believing he's receiving the chance to regain his wealth without marriage, and offers Lawrence a chance to live the life of a prince. Naveen reluctantly accepts and Lawrence does the same, albeit immediately, thus setting the deal in motion. The true motives of Facilier, however, is to have Lawrence become his minion, transform him into an exact clone of Naveen, and have him marry Charlotte. Once he does, Facilier will murder Big Daddy, thus allowing Lawrence to inherit the family fortune. The two villains then plan to split the money and live the rest of their lives wealthy beyond belief. Whilst a disguised Lawrence heads to Charlotte's masquerade ball to begin the plot, Naveen was imprisoned. At the ball, Charlotte and Lawrence share a waltz, and in during which, Naveen manages to escape. Fearing what they'd do now that the prince has fled, Facilier reassures Lawrence all's well, so long as they have the prince's blood in a special talisman that gives the former valet the ability to morph into Naveen.

Rendezvous with Charlotte
The next day, the blood begins to run low, causing Lawrence's disguise to fade away. Fortunately for him, he manages to propose to Charlotte before his cover is blown, but a frustrated Facilier voices concern, confessing he's now reduced to asking for help from his friends on the other side. Back at his lair, Facilier commands a legion of shadow demons to find and capture Naveen. As they're out searching, Lawrence keeps clear of Charlotte, up until the night of their wedding, when the shadows finally return with the frog prince in their possessions. Lawrence extracts the royal blood and returns to his princely disguise, heading out to join the festivities of Mardi Gras as the wedding ceremony begins. Before they're marriage is sealed, however, Naveen is freed from his prison by his firefly fried, Ray, and battles Lawrence for the talisman. The wedding is put to a halt and Lawrence rushes into a nearby church, with Naveen in his grip. Before he's able to confine him yet again, the frog prince manages to steal the talisman and passes it over to Ray, who escapes. Lawrence is ordered to stay out of sight by the doctor whilst the latter and his shadow demons rush out to retrieve the necklace.

Lawrence's Comeuppance
As Lawrence stays put with Naveen, Facilier meets his demise at the hands of Tiana (a waitress befriended by Naveen), who successfully destroys the talisman, thus ending the villainous plot for good. Meanwhile, after Mardi Gras has come to a close, Charlotte begins to confront her fiancé, only to find the snide Lawrence, in his true form. The southern belle screams in disgust, causing Lawrence to flee the scene in fear, discarding Naveen as he does. Big Daddy is informed of the impersonating situation and orders for Lawrence's arrest. Despite his pleads for freedom and claims he was completely manipulated by Facilier, Lawrence is apprehended and taken to the Paris Prison.

The Princess and the Frog: Video Game
Lawrence plays a minor role in the game, being featured alongside Dr. Facilier as an antagonist in one of the mini-games. Here, he apparently resides in Dr. Facilier's Voodoo Emporium alongside the evil doctor.

Disney Parks
Currently Lawrence makes no live appearances at the Disney theme parks. However, he does make a live appearance in the tour show Disney On Ice: Dare to Dream. In the show, unlike the film, he doesn't join forces with Facilier. Instead, he flees the scene the moment Naveen and Facilier strike the deal, thus casting the spell.

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
Lawrence appears in the Walt Disney World interactive attraction as part of The Princess and the Frog's themed mission. In Frontierland and Liberty Square, Hades revives Doctor Facilier from "the other side" and the Shadow Man plots to take over Frontierland. Other than that, he also wishes to have revenge on Tiana. Facilier frees Lawrence from prison and sends him to Tiana's Palace. Lawrence poisons the meals at the restaurant so that when everyone eats them, they will be under Facilier's control. The park guests arrive before Lawrence can complete his assignment and defeat him with magic.