Despite its themes of divorce, unfit parenting, deceit and a custody battle, Mrs. Doubtfire manages, somehow, to remain a light and friendly family favourite.
That is until we witnessed these deleted scenes that shine a light on the fraught relationship between parents Daniel and Sally.
As we know, when their marriage breaks down, doting dad Daniel decides to impersonate a British housekeeper to get closer to his children. Mrs. Doubtfire becomes their rock as Sally begins dating another man.
While the original film portrays the divorce as slightly messy but ultimately fine, these deleted scenes indicate that the reality is much more jarring.
In the first scene, daughter Lydia is distracted during her spelling bee as her parents bicker in the crowd.
In a second scene, the children witness a brutal argument between parents. The fighting depicted through the eyes of the children is heart-wrenching, uncomfortable and a stark reminder that it’s a not all floral aprons and cross-dressing nannies.
We’re pretty glad these didn’t make the cut. We’d rather stick to our blissfully ignorant original, thanks.
