#drfacilier

After watching The Princess and the Frog (2009) for the nth time, it really got me thinking about the New Orleans culture and other potential sides to the characters. Dr. Facilier was a great villain people loved to hate...he was willing to harm those around him just to get the green. We all know how he lived and how he got dragged into the Guinee, the voodoo land of the dead. This earned him a high ranking on the Disney villain list, though he still remains criminally underrated in comparison to other villains.

 When I listened to the Bayou Boogie soundtrack, several songs stood out: “Shadow Man,” “Do What I Wanna Do,” and “Love is a Magical Mystery.” As you may have guessed, all three songs are sung by Keith David, the voice of Dr. Facilier, but only ”Friends On The Other Side” was the catchy song he sang in the film. “Shadow Man” described the character’s suave sneaky ways of leading people astray. Like the shadows, he follows you around and you don’t even know it. “Do What I Wanna Do” depicts how Dr. Facilier manipulates people with false promises and the fact that he enjoys being a deceiver. He only wants what’s best for himself, the concerns of others don’t matter to him. In “Love Is A Magical Mystery,” love is more complex than any spell or potion. Although the song describes Dr. Facilier tricking people into knowing all about love, it may also refer to a lost love in his past.

 But who is Dr. Facilier anyway? Never mind that we don’t know his first name.

 In Princess and the Frog, Dr. Facilier mentions being a descendent of royalty through his mother (which implies that she may have been a Voodoo Queen. He might even be related to Marie Laveau.) He is African American with French origins. We don’t know whether Dr. Facilier was born in New Orleans or if he immigrated from elsewhere with his family. But there are a few things we do know. He practices both Hoodoo and Voodoo. Dr. Facilier had a poor upbringing, being surrounded by poverty and racism. Over time, he grew envious of the rich who either mistreated him or ignored him. The resentment toward mostly whites and the upper class led to his desire to take over New Orleans. Despite Dr. Facilier’s skill at manipulating and scheming people, he still didn’t make enough money to sustain himself…more than likely, he wanted to live a luxurious life. Life simply was not fair. To achieve his goals further, he needed help…from the other side.

 Another thing we know is that Dr. Facilier encountered a group of dark Loa and formed an alliance with them, granting himself the ability to perform black magic. Loa are the spirits of Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo. They are intermediaries between humanity and the supreme creator Bondye. The Rada, Petro and Ghede Loa are three types of Loa nations. Dr. Facilier’s design is inspired by the Ghede Loa of the dead, Baron Samedi. The Loa aren’t necessarily “good” or “evil” but the Petro Loa are more aggressive and warlike. It is likely that Dr. Facilier made deals with Baron Samedi, Petro Loa Met Kalfu, and Papa Legba, Loa of the Crossroads. In the film, the Loa are inaccurately portrayed as evil Tiki heads served by living Voodoo dolls and shadow monsters. (Let’s assume that Met Kalfu allowed darker spirits to “cross over” into the living world, the beings “personifying” as Loa.) Dr. Facilier relies on them to use his magic, but if he doesn’t pay them with souls from New Orleans, they would take his instead.

 Dr. Facilier is portrayed very differently in other TV shows and novels as well. However, they don’t reveal anything about his past. In the case of the TV shows, he is not depicted as the same kind of villain.

 In the popular ABC’s Once Upon a Time series, Dr. Facilier is played by Daniel Francis in the Greenbacks episode. Tiana visits him and asks him to help her find a price. Facilier makes her think that a fraud named Robert is the prince. He ends up stealing a ruby from a medal and reviving Prince Naveen before teleporting him away. Regina, the Evil Queen, is his love interest. In Disney Descendants, he has two daughters: Freddie (Descendants Wicked World) and Celia. In Descendants: Isle of the Lost, Dr. Facilier appears as a headmaster of Dragon Hall, a school for the next generation of villains. Dr. Facilier appears as a less diabolical side villain to support the respective story arcs of the shows.

 Vera Strange’s middle school novel “Chilled: Fiends On the Other Side” does an exceptional job in depicting Dr. Facilier’s sinister nature when his plan results in him becoming a militia in an alternate universe. (Tiana appears in her new restaurant from the end of the Disney film after Dr. Facilier’s official death.) The book centers on an African American boy, Jamal, who is jealous of his popular twin brother Malik. Jamal receives a skull necklace that warns him of danger. Dr. Facilier meets Jamal and offers him a chance to be popular. When Jamal refuses, the Shadow Man hunts him down and pesters him with cards and his own shadow. Dr. Facilier demands the necklace back, but Jamal steals his brother’s treasured trumpet and offers it in exchange. Although Jamal becomes popular, his brother becomes a shadow. Dr. Facilier eventually threatens Malik’s life, tricking Jamal into giving him the necklace. The two brothers become shadows, who are forgotten by their parents before they fade away.

 Regarding Disney villain backstory films, Maleficent appeared in 2014, the sequel in 2019 and Cruella is set to appear later in 2021. If Disney enjoys exploring live-action remakes, then it should be no surprise that Dr. Facilier (and other villains) should get their own backstories as well. In addition, Disney is set to include cast member training at the Princess and the Frog Splash Mountain re-theme at Disneyland Resort and Disneyworld Resort. A backstory for this villain could promote this project and many others.

 There are several noteworthy authors that have inspired me to delve deeper into the dark man’s past. The Disney “Twisted Tale” anthology is a collection of “what-if” tales that serve as spin offs to classic Disney films. The authors are Liz Braswell, Jen Calonita, and Elizabeth Lim, who have made ten books thus far. The titles of the books follow a pattern of being the name of a song: for example, “Once Upon a Dream” from Cinderella or “Reflection” from Mulan. The future Princess and the Frog inspired book will no doubt bear the title, “Almost There.” It’ll likely center around Tiana trying to earn her dream job of owning a restaurant, but with an evil Dr. Facilier attempting to manipulate her. “What if Tiana made a deal with Dr. Facilier?” Now that would be an interesting storyline!

 Moreover, there are a series of books by author Serena Valentino that explore the backstories of Disney villains. She has written stories with extraordinary female protagonists. Thus, the author’s main focus is on the female Disney villains, with the Beast being the only male. Villains like Jafar, Hades, Gaston, and, of course the Shadow Man, don’t have their stories…yet. It is unknown if or when Dr. Facilier will get his own live-action film. Most of the fanfictions I have read are mostly focused on either Dr. Facilier in the TV shows or Dr. Facilier being in a relationship with Naveen or Tiana. (Dr. Facilier is in his 40’s while Tiana is in her late teens). No current backstory novel for a memorable Disney villain…something would have to be done!

 The other part of how I got my inspiration comes from a unique adult musical web series that started on YouTube. There is a memorable villain who at first glance, appears to be a rip-off of Dr. Facilier. Behind the dancing demeanor, however, lies a diabolical demon every bit as charming and sly as Dr. Facilier. (Though the man could easily give Dr. Facilier nightmares) The man is Alastor from VivziePop’s 2019 web series Hazbin Hotel.

  Alastor and Dr. Facilier share much in common. Both are from New Orleans in the 1900s and can do dark voodoo magic (complete with canes and top hats). They have French origins; Alastor is Creole. Both faced discrimination and racism, later doing evil acts to try and achieve their goals. They are both deal-makers and love to dance, sing and play instruments. Both have their own shadow minions as well. Yet, there are major differences too. While Dr. Facilier was evil in his life, he certainly was not a radio host and serial killer who later became a demon in Hell. I’ve made a dozen fan made stories for the demonic deer man, including a partially completed novel. Indeed, both my story ideas about their lives are sometimes intertwined. If Dr. Facilier’s sinister younger counterpart gets to be an instant icon, why not him?

 So what would be the title of my book? “Shadow Man” of course!

  References

https://insidethemagic.net/2020/11/dr-facilier-live-action-rwb1/

 https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Dr._Facilier