4 min clip analysis: Friend's on the Other Side
In this essay, I’ll be analyzing Dr. Facilier’s signature villain song from the 2009 animated film, The Princess and the Frog. I choose this scene specifically because it’s one of the most important and visually impressive scenes out of all the 2000s Disney movies.
As the scene starts, Prince Naveen and his servant Lawrance come across Dr. Facilier on the side of the road in New Orleans, at first, however, the shot is position on the ground under him so the most we see of him is his shadow which looms over the two other characters. The camera then tilts up to see the Voodoo doctor, he is shot from a low angle making him look tall and somewhat menacing and his movements at this point in the scene are more calm and proper. His design adds to this as well, he is given a lot of sharp, thin shapes which makes him look more menacing and cunning which coupled with the skull on his hat, which symbolizes death and his darker purplish colour scheme tells us that he is most likely a villain. The design of the other characters tell us a lot about them too, Naveen’s has more casual clothing, making him look like a carefree guy, on the other hand, Lawrance has a suit but one with muted colours which makes him look less friendly than you would usually expect from a butler character. The lighting so far is still warm and bright but this changes as the scene transitions into the Shadowman’s lair.
This setting is darker in tone and a long shot reveals more details such as dead trees, this contrasts the warm welcoming feel of outside the ally as a much more unsettling place, perfect for Dr. Facilier who’s actions began to shift, from being more proper to having more erratic movements and actions, almost as if he’s dancing as he is now in his element, a place where he has control over everything and can get away with anything, such as manipulating the other characters. Here the lighting and colour change significantly, everything is covered in a reddish or purplish hue which signifies mystery and danger which are colours also associated with Facilier. We also get a lot more mid and long shots from both high and low angles which allows us to see details of Facilier’s room such as his various voodoo items. As the song begins we also see a lot more close-up shots of the characters. This allows us to see their expressions and reactions better, the most important one being Lawrence’s malicious smile as the Facilier offers to give him his desire for wealth and status, as well as revealing his grudge against the Prince and the want to not only be as rich as him but for their positions to reverse. The close-ups were also used to tell the story of each character in cards, switching to reaction shots which tells us a lot about how each character perceives their lives, Naveen being apathetic about everything with his constant smile while Lawrence clearly was unhappy with his as he was pushed around for all of his life, this is seen is his constant frown. The music here is jazzy and fun at first then slows down for most of the scene where the music becomes loader a few times, specifically when Dr. Facilier talks about the wants of each character.
This then builds up to a much more bombastic end, the music swells up in a loader, a more dramatic and menacing rendition of the melody and tone, signifying that Naveen and Lawrance fell right into his trap. As they shake hands the scene shifts to a more abstract background, the colours become much more saturated, a sickening green is adding making the scene psychedelic and uncomfortable. This green colour then overtakes and entirely covers Naveen as he transforms, hinting that he has become a frog which was also hinted at by the lyrics of the song a few times. Close-ups and extreme close-ups were also added to make the scene feel more cramped so the audience would feel the same way as Naveen does as he is currently tied up. A final long shot of Facilier dancing as he takes total control, his plan has come to fruition, this is supported by the lack of the other two characters in the scene as he is now to one in charge, the one who holds the powerending this song on a high note for our villain.
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