Even during its most over-the-top, slapstick comedy moments, Mrs. Doubtfire has the more serious undercurrent of a father doing whatever he can to spend time with his kids. But a new set of deleted scenes from the film reveal just how close that idea was to injecting some much heavier moments into the film.
Matthew Keys has posted a few deleted scenes from Mrs. Doubtfire, all of which feature Robin Williams’ Daniel Hillard and his struggle to be the responsible father his ex-wife, Miranda (Sally Field), wanted him to be all along. Little in these scenes is played for laughs, and had all three been included in the final feature film, these extra eight minutes would have added a much heavier tone to what is often a funny film.
The scenes include Daniel arriving late to, and then arguing with Miranda during, a school spelling bee their daughter Lydia (Lisa Jakub) is competing in, along with Daniel and Lydia talking afterwards. The final scene might be the most dramatic at all, as Daniel and Miranda not only fight within earshot and then in front of their children, but Christopher Columbus’ direction very much focuses on the impact this fight is having on the three Hillard siblings.
Watch the three scenes compiled together in the video above. Before Robin Williams’ death in 2014, there had been plans to produce a sequel to Mrs. Doubtfire.
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