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.

Production

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 song.

Synopsis

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.

Critical reception

The Telegraph describes it as a "Trippy voodoo number".^[1]

Commonsensemedia says the song "takes listeners through the squares and bayous of the city, bringing to life the mystery of voodoo and magic".^[2]

Slate wrote "[Facilier's] big number, Friends on the Other Side, is the best-written in the movie and a great showcase of spooky, voodoo-inflected animation; his comeuppance is appropriately spectacular."^[3]

High-Def Digest wrote "Pixar stalwart Randy Newman...adds warmth and a wonderful sense of genuine Americana to the proceedings...In particular Dr. Facilier's song, Friends on the Other Side, is a showstopper. It's a big, broad, scary song and it is an absolute hoot". The review said "I would include [it] in any 'Blu-ray highlight reel', because it just sounds so amazing. Sequences like that, which are so wholly immersive, with the dialogue so crystal clear and the surround atmospherics at peak precision, are the sequences that will sway anyone towards the glories of the high definition format."^[4]

Variety said the song was "sinister", and said it "recalls Scar’s “Be Prepared” from “The Lion King”".^[5]

FilmTracks said the song "steals the show, Keith David's performance a standout". It also notes "The melodies of the songs do carry over throughout the score, of which more than half an hour exists on Disney's album for the soundtrack. The themes of "Almost There," "Friends on the Other Side," and "Ma Belle Evangeline" carry most of the load".^[6]

Yahoo.com described it as "devious" and one of the film's highlights, saying it is "delightfully trippy with its visuals".^[7]

FilmMusicMag wrote "if there’s a devilish pleasure to THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG’s songs, it’s the Keith David-topped Friends on the Other Side. This show-stealing, slick voodoo man ascends to classic Disney villainhood with Friends on the Other Side, his soul-stealing enticement backed by a playfully sinister chorus, funeral brass and stop-and-start melodies that play the character like some twisted version of Sportin’ Life in PORGY AND BESS. It’s a tune that’s a devilishly fun match for Danny Elfman’s Oogie Boogie’s Song in A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, let alone when Alan Menken had Ursula belt out Poor Unfortunate Souls for THE LITTLE MERMAID.^[8]

References

1. "The Princess and the Frog, review". Telegraph.co.uk. 28 January 2010.
2. "The Princess and the Frog Soundtrack". commonsensemedia.org.
3. "The Princess and the Frog". Slate Magazine.
4. "The Princess and the Frog (Three Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo with Digital Copy)". highdefdigest.com.
5. Justin Chang. "The Princess and the Frog". Variety.
6. "Filmtracks: The Princess and the Frog (Randy Newman)". filmtracks.com.
7. "Yahoo". Yahoo.
8. "CD Review: The Princess and The Frog – Original Soundtrack". filmmusicmag.com.