Facilier’s Shadow

**Facilier's Shadow** is a supporting antagonist in Disney's 2009 animated feature film *The Princess and the Frog*. He is a sentient shadow belonging to Dr. Facilier, serving as his sinister sidekick.

## Background

As the shadow of Dr. Facilier, it is completely loyal to him and serves as a manifestation of the witch doctor's sinister personality. Despite being somewhat one of Facilier's "Friends on the Other Side", it has no association with them, and especially fears the fate it and Facilier will face if he fails to pay back his debt, making it seem that Facilier's voodoo mastery gave his inner darkness a form of a shadow. It doesn't speak, only communicating physically, though, in two different occasions, it did chuckle in a sinister tone.

## Role in the film

On a busy day in New Orleans, Facilier suddenly gains the urge to become the wealthiest man in the city upon witnessing the vast wealth of Eli La Bouff. He and his Shadow soon learn that Prince Naveen of Maldonia was visiting the city that same day to marry Big Daddy's daughter, Charlotte La Bouff. Facilier tricks the Prince into striking a deal, turning him into a frog. Meanwhile, Naveen's former valet, Lawrence, became part of the scheme, disguising himself as the Prince in order to marry Charlotte. Once they marry, Facilier would murder Big Daddy, thus having the fortune handed down to Lawrence and the villains.

However, the real Naveen comes across a waitress named Tiana who dreams of opening her own restaurant. Believing helping the prince break the spell would help her obtain money to open her restaurant, Tiana agrees to help (though she ends up getting turned into a frog herself). When the trinket that powers Lawrence's disguise is stolen by Tiana and Naveen's firefly friend, Ray, Facilier and the shadows chase after Ray while Naveen is being held captive by Lawrence. Ray manages to give the talisman over to Tiana, telling her she needs to keep it away from the Shadow Man. Tiana escapes with the talisman whilst Ray begins destroying the shadow demons. Facilier stops this by fatally wounding Ray. With him out of the way, the Shadow Man and his legion of demons head onward to Tiana. Facilier and the shadows have Tiana cornered, soon enough and Facilier's shadow closes in on her. However, the shadow cringes back in fear as she threatens to destroy it much to Facilier's and the shadows' fear, prompting Facilier to quickly make an attempt to strike a deal with her. He changes Tiana back to human and tries to manipulate her into handing over the talisman in exchange for granting Tiana's dreams to open the restaurant she's dreamed of having since she was a little girl.

Though Tiana was against the deal, Facilier decided to bring up her sacrifices, as well as, people's doubts of her before settling on the subject of her deceased father, telling her that his dream never came true, but by accepting the offer, she could make it happen. The discussion of James actually backfires on the evil doctor, and Tiana realizes that while her father didn't get what he wanted, he had what he needed: love, which was much more important than what he wanted. With that, Tiana denies the deal, not falling for Facilier's manipulation and attempts to destroy the talisman, but Facilier's living shadow grabs it and hands it back to the doctor. Tiana is then changed back to a frog and held down by the evil doctor. Facilier taunts the heroine, telling her she'll now spend the rest of her life as a frog for "foolishly" denying his deal. Fortunately, however, with quick thinking and a flick of her prehensile tongue, Tiana regains hold of the talisman and smashes it to pieces.

Once said trinket is destroyed by Tiana, Facilier's deadline expires, and he and his shadow are dragged down to the voodoo underworld to endure eternal suffering.

## Trivia

* While Facilier was dancing in front of Naveen and Lawrence in his Voodoo shop, his shadow turns the wall's floral background into skulls.
* Facilier’s shadow bears differences to Peter Pan’s shadow.