- “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 of Disney's 2009 animated film, The Princess and the Frog.
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. As revealed by Dr. Facilier during "Friends on the Other Side", Lawrence comes from a peasantry background and has spent a majority of his life being pushed around, mostly by his abusive family, who apparently treated Lawrence as a jester and their personal servant.
Facilier also mentions the possibility of Lawrence eventually marrying, though he claims that his wife will also humiliate and take advantage of him.
Personality
Though he serves as the secondary antagonist 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; the first instance was during the climax of "Friends on the Other Side", where Lawrence, despite initially being thrilled with Facilier's offer, showed extreme horror and regret at what the witch doctor's spell had done to Naveen. After imprisoning Naveen in a jar to prevent him from interfering with Facilier's scheme, Lawrence showed sympathy for the prince and loosened the lid to ensure he didn't suffocate—so much so, that Naveen was able to escape, implying he removed the lid all together. Finally, Lawrence made a legitimate attempt to revoke his deal with Facilier, unwilling to engage in a further villainous activity, but he was manipulated by the smooth-talking doctor to allow his greed and abusive past to consume his senses, thus continuing on with the scheme.
With that said, Lawrence is ultimately an incredibly greedy man, which acts as the prime motivation to his collaboration with Facilier. Hints of his greed could even be seen during his and Naveen's arrival in New Orleans, where he wholeheartedly supported the selfish idea of marrying a woman strictly for her money and advised Naveen to do so, to overcome life following his cut from the royal fortune.
Physical appearance
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, and the overall broad design style of John Lounsbery; one of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men". Lawrence is a short, elderly man in a black suit, with a classic bowler hat to match the 1920's 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".[1]
Role in the film
Lawrence in The Princess and the Frog.
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.
Lawrence as Naveen in disguise
After the commotion, the duo encounters 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 eagerly and 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, thanks to Lawrence having loosened the lid on his jar out of pity when the transformed prince seemed to be suffocating. This leads Naveen into meeting Tiana, whom he attempts to kiss in an effort to break the spell, only to turn her into a frog as well.
In the resulting chaos following the two frogs' escape, Lawrence scurried off to the guest house to check whether Naveen was still there, only to find a crossed Facilier waiting for him. Lawrence then began to have second thoughts about the scheme and tore off the talisman, reverting to his true appearance. Telling Facilier to wear it himself, Lawrence casually threw it. Panicking, Facilier caught the talisman before it hit the floor and warned Lawrence that he can't risk it being destroyed. Calming down, Facilier demonstrated that his own voodoo doesn't work on himself by wearing it. He then convinced Lawrence to proceed with the scheme by playing on his resentment against the upper class. 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.
Lawrence, as his disguise begins to fade.
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 their marriage is sealed, however, Naveen is freed from his prison by his firefly friend, 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 arrest by orders of Big Daddy
As Lawrence stays put with Naveen, Facilier meets his demise at the hands of Tiana, 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 Parish Prison.
Video games
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
Lawrence in Disney On Ice
Currently, Lawrence makes no live appearances at the Disney theme parks. However, he does make a live appearance on 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.
Walt Disney World Resort
Lawrence appears in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. In Frontierland and Liberty Square, Hades revives Dr. 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, now having adopted the nickname "Voodoo Larry", 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.
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