How the film "Mrs. Doubtfire" was filmed: footage from the filming and 18 interesting facts about the film (25 photos)

This film won the love of the audience, but few people know exactly how it was created. During filming, Robin Williams had to replay the same scenes several times.





1. Many may not know, but the film "Mrs. Doubtfire" is an adaptation of the book by writer Anne Fine called "Madame Doubtfire."

When the writer lived in Edinburgh, walking along the streets of Edinburgh, she constantly passed a second-hand shop. Above the store there was a sign that read "Madame Doubtfire." Moreover, as it turned out, this is not the surname of the store owner Annabela Kutz, but the surname of her husband.



Anne Fine

Anne Fine liked this combination so much that the writer decided to give this last name to the nanny in her future book.

Following the success of the book, the writer decided to travel back to Edinburgh to ask the shop owner to use the title. This is quite strange, considering that the book has already been released and was a success with the audience.





But in any case, by that time the owner of the store was no longer alive, so the writer decided to negotiate the use of her name with her closest relative, namely her nephew.

The relative gave his consent, but noted that if his aunt were alive, she would be furious at such news.

2. Comedian Tim Allen was initially invited to play the main role of Daniel Hillard, who disguised himself as a nanny to be closer to his children. But he decided to refuse the role.



Then the main role was offered to the famous comedian Robin Williams, to which he agreed. And I think this is the right choice. The actor perfectly knew how to work with his voice (just look at his Genie from the cartoon “Aladdin”), so he was suitable for the role of a voice actor transforming into an old woman like no one else.



But the writer of the original book wanted to see the famous actor Warren Beatty in this role. She thought it would be very funny to try on the image of an old woman on an actor with a reputation as a womanizer. But the producers didn’t even consider this option. And they did the right thing.



3. The film was directed by Chris Columbus, who was already known for directing two parts of the film Home Alone. According to Columbus himself, he agreed to become a director mainly for two reasons:



4. The role of Stewart was also initially offered to Tim Allen, but he did not want to act in this film. Then the role was offered to Pierce Brosnan, to which he agreed.

By the way, according to the original script, Stewart was supposed to be an arrogant man whom the audience was supposed to hate (something like the classic evil stepmother). But Chris Colmabus refused this option, since, according to him, such an image of Stewart would only ruin the film. He asked the writers to make him a normal man who would become a good husband for Miranda and get along with her children.



5. The film's script was written by two women - Leslie Dixon and Randi Mayem Singer. But it would be worth adding one more screenwriter to the credits - Robin Williams. As you know, Robin Williams constantly improvised, and the film "Mrs. Doubtfire" was no exception. Many scenes in the film were invented by him.

Take the scene when, during dinner at a restaurant, Mrs. Doubtfire's false teeth fall into a glass. This scene was not written in the script, and Robin suggested it to the director in confidence, without telling the other actors about it. Therefore, all the emotions of the actors in that scene are real.



Do you remember the scene when Robin Williams' character dipped his face in the cake to avoid getting burned in front of Mrs. Selner? It was not planned in the script that the cream from the face would fall into the coffee mug. But because the lighting fixtures heated the whipped cream, it began to melt and fall down. But Robin Williams did not leave the character, but in the end came up with a joke, making this scene one of the most memorable.



It was because of Williams's improvisations that Chris Columbus insisted that several frames be used during filming, since he was well aware that some of these same improvisations would certainly end up in the film.

6. According to director Chris Columbus, he wanted the character of Mrs. Doubtfire to feel warm and cozy. The director and the film crew looked through hundreds of photographs of old women until they came across a photo of an elderly woman taken back in the 40s.



When Columbus saw this photo, he realized that this was exactly what they needed. As a result, it was from this photograph that the image of Mrs. Doubtfire herself was created.



7. Director Chris Columbus even held a separate casting for the animals to see which ones would behave better on camera.

8. In order to make up Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire, the actor had to sit in the dressing room for 4-5 hours a day. He arrived at the studio at 5 o'clock in the morning to be ready for the start of filming.



The mask we see in the film had nothing to do with makeup. She was needed only for the frame. But the makeup itself was very complex, as it consisted of as many as 8 parts made of latex. After applying each part, I also had to apply several layers of makeup.



Robin even often fell asleep during makeup, so the makeup artist decided to place a mirror in front of the actor's face so that he could watch the TV in it, which was located behind him.



But in the end, all this torment paid off, because the film won an Oscar in the Best Makeup category.

9. When Robin Williams was first put in makeup, they decided to test him to see if he looked like a real old lady or not. And when Robin arrived on set, he (as Doubtfire) was introduced to the child actors as Chris Columbus's mother.



The plan worked. All three children believed that the director’s mother was standing in front of them. And actress Lisa Jacob, who played the eldest daughter Lydia, tried to please the old lady in everything. Imagine her surprise when she found out that Robin Williams was actually standing in front of her.



Even Robin's own son, who was on set, didn't recognize his father. Only when the actor spoke did his son recognize him by his voice.

10. During the filming of the scene where Daniel, as Mrs. Doubtfire, was learning to cook, the chest pads actually caught fire. Yes, this scene was not planned, but Williams, as always, got out of the situation with the help of improvisation. Although, maybe this is just a legend to attract an audience.



11. In 2013, pregnant Kim Kardashian posted a photo of herself on social networks. This post was picked up by Robin Williams, placing a photo of Mrs. Doubtfire next to it and publishing a post on his page: “I think this dress would look better on me.”



Seems like a harmless joke. But when Kim Kardashian saw this post, she was simply beside herself with anger.

12. The producers of the film did not like the sad ending. They demanded to change the ending, because this is a good family film, which means the spouses should get back together. But one of the screenwriters (Randi Mayem Singer) refused to change anything, which is why she even had to quit.

But the second screenwriter agreed to change the ending to a happy one, although it turned out to be very unnatural and uninteresting, so it was decided to leave the original version.



13. Mrs. Doubtfire's costume, which was burned during filming, sold at auction for $27,000 in 2021.

14. With a budget of $25 million, the film grossed $441.2 million worldwide, which is, of course, a success. In the wake of this success, the XX century FOX studio even decided to make a sequel to the film.



According to the plot of the film, Daniel once again had to dress up as Mrs. Doubtfire to keep an eye on his daughter in college. But after reading the script, Robin Williams found it simply terrible and unworkable. He also stated that any continuation of the film is doomed to failure, so it will not be filmed. Well, without Williams there could be no talk of any continuation.



15. The address of Miranda's house, which Daniel says on the phone, is the real address of that same house. After Robin Williams died in 2014, the house became something of a memorial. Fans of the actor’s work brought photographs and flowers there.



16. As part of the advertising campaign, Robin Williams walked the streets of San Francisco dressed as Mrs. Doubtfire. He visited various shops and cafes. But most of all, stunned passers-by were surprised when a sweet old lady entered a store for adults.



17. Remember the bartender from the pool scene? He was played by Robin Williams' older brother, Todd Williams.

18. In the same list of nannies that we see towards the end of the film, not random names and surnames are written, but the names and surnames of some members of the film crew.