Friends on the Other Side

"Friends On The Other Side" is a song from the 2009 Disney Animated film The Princess and the Frog. It was written and conducted by Randy Newman and is sung by Keith David, the voice of the film's villain, Dr. Facilier. It depicts Facilier beginning his plan to take over New Orleans by first deceiving Prince Naveen while at the same time, getting his valet, Lawrence, to become his ally. The song is reprised later in the film when he fails and is dragged into the spirit world.

The song shares many similarities with Ursula's "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in The Little Mermaid, both being sung by villains who claim to do business by helping make the dreams of others come true when in reality, they're doing what they do for their own benefit and delight, and both are used as means to deceive the protagonists (both, coincidentally, being royals) into making deals with them, and both songs ending with the protagonist undergoing a mystical transformation that will last for nearly most of the film.

"Friends On The Other Side" is the first song in almost a decade after "Hellfire" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996, and the deleted song "Snuff Out the Light" from Kingdom Of The Sun/The Emperor's New Groove in 2000, to continue the tradition of Disney villains of newer Disney films having their own songs.

The villain, a mystical man named Dr. Facilier, is trying to strike a deal with Prince Naveen and his valet Lawrence to get what he wants. He leads Naveen and Lawrence into his shop and bids them sit down at a table for a Tarot reading. While performing tricks with his Tarot cards, Facilier reads Naveen and Lawrence's situations: Naveen has been cut off from his parents' money and needs to marry a rich young lady, while Lawrence has apparently been "pushed around all [his] life", primarily by his family. However, at the end of each reading, Facilier prognosticates that their situation will change: Naveen will receive "green" (a double entendre referring to money and to Naveen's later transformation into a frog), while Lawrence will become "exactly the man [he] always wanted to be", referencing Lawrence's envy of Naveen's carefree life. Facilier pleads for both of them to shake his hand, and grins evilly as they do, sealing a contract with him and summoning his "Friends on the Other Side", who take the form of voodoo dolls, masks, and shrunken heads. Retrieving a talisman from the largest mask Friend, Facilier uses it to prick Naveen's finger and take his blood, starting his transformation into a frog. Lawrence is terrified as his master shrinks down into the shape of an amphibian, as Facilier exults with dancing and fireworks, before the camera fades to black with a warning of "Hush..." from the magician.

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