A ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Deleted Scene Gave the Movie the Bleak Ending It Deserved

Watching Mrs. Doubtfire as an adult is a decidedly different experience. Kids love the wacky hijinks and Robin Williams quips, whereas grown-ups might wonder why the movie doesn’t end with Williams’ deceitful, child-endangering protagonist being sent directly to jail. Somehow the character in the original novel was even worse, fantasizing about slitting his ex-wife’s throat, and forcing his children to do all the housework that “Madame Doubtfire” is being paid for.

But the 1993 film originally had a climax that was even more upsetting than what we got in the finished cut — which would have been way more appropriate, to be honest.

The deleted scene, which is making the rounds on social media right now, finds Daniel Hillard returning to his ex’s house after his Mrs. Doubtfire ruse has been exposed. He basically refuses to leave, and proceeds to get in a huge fight with Miranda (Sally Field) all while their children are forced to listen from upstairs. The scene ends with their oldest kid screaming, “I hate you both!” 

Heavy stuff for a movie that also features a “run-by fruiting.”

While it’s obviously a huge bummer, the scene does make an important point, both for the characters, and for long-term relationships in general. Daniel and Miranda’s kids still love them, but they clearly don’t love this unhealthy dynamic. Daniel wants to be in his kids’ lives, but trying to force his way back into a broken relationship will only hurt them more.

In addition to this critical emotional resolution, as @girldrawsghosts points out, this scene actually addresses the fact that Miranda was paying her ex-husband — and he defends it by yelling about how the money “came back” in the form of child support (an argument the character makes in the novel as well). She also blasts him for forcing their kids to lie to her on his behalf, which is pretty messed up when you think about it.

The scene was cut out of the finished film, presumably because it was a huge bummer, as was a scene in which Daniel and Miranda get into an embarrassing fight during a school spelling bee. 

So the film was nearly a tad darker, but it also came close to being way lighter at one point. Reportedly, the studio originally wanted the movie to resolve with a happy ending in which Daniel and Miranda reconcile (and presumably in which Pierce Brosnan’s character gets eaten by wolves). But Williams, having gone through a divorce himself, objected to this idea, reasoning that it would create unrealistic expectations for child viewers.

Also, suggesting that the path to marital bless is paved with trickery, hostility and elaborate costumes probably wouldn’t have been the best moral for a family film. 

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time you’re reading this).