History Film / MrsDoubtfire

* ThrowItIn: An InUniverse example. At the start of the film, Daniel attempts to improvise the dialogue while recording a scene where Pudgey the Parrot is forced to smoke, in an attempt to prevent the scene from setting a bad example for children. But besides finding it too preachy, Lou points out that the animation is already completed and Daniel cannot adlib during scenes when Pudgey's mouth is not animated to move.

** Additionally, the animated characters smoking would be ''extremely'' unlikely in the first place, as the animation is clearly meant for children (emulating classic Warner Bros. cartoons), and is being made in the then-current early 1990s. By then, networks like ABC had been subjecting older cartoons like Warner Bros. to {{Bowdlerization}} for decades, ramping up their censorship in the early 1990s to remove more scenes of smoking, fire, guns, insensitivity towards mental illness, and racism. Realistically, the aforementioned censor board should be going after the studio for the smoking itself.

* ArtisticLicenseFilmProduction: At the beginning of the film, Daniel is working as a voice actor, watching a fully animated clip and trying to lip sync his dialogue to it. Chris Columbus even points out in the commentary that in most western animation, all voice acting is completed before anything is drawn (save for ADR, which usually takes care of grunts, groans or lines that were thought up after the main voicing session was complete), but doing it this way made more sense to the plot. It could not be taken as Daniel dubbing a foreign cartoon, either, since the lip-sync in the cartoon (produced by Creator/ChuckJones) is clearly English. Daniel is more than likely just doing post-production looping, either to just do touch ups on certain lines, or maybe [[TheOtherMarty Daniel replaced another actor,]] [[invoked]] and is recording over the previous actor's work. Which makes sense from his conversation with the producer who complains that this session is already costing the studio and they're on a deadline. Also, you don't typically have a censor board overseeing the actual dubbing/recording of a cartoon... that would waste far too much of their time. (Maybe they were just there to hotbox inside the booth?)

* AdaptationalLocationChange: The book was set in England while the movie relocates the action to San Francisco. Most of the characters are [[AdaptationalNationality Americanized]] as a result, but coincidentally, Mrs. Doubtfire herself is British (though she comes from Scotland) and so is Stu (He is played by Pearce Brosnan).

* HardTruthAesop: Sorry kids, but sometimes it really ''is'' best for everybody involved for your parents to get (and remain) divorced. People who are too different from one another simply can't function together, and need to be apart in order to be the parents that you need in your life. The original script actually did end with Daniel and Miranda getting back together, but Chris Columbus, Sally Field, and Robin Williams, who’d all been divorced, worried it would give children of divorced parents unreasonable hope and successfully got it changed.

* JerkassHasAPoint: The judge, although he only comes across as a jerkass from Daniel's point of view. In actual fact, Daniel's lucky that he didn't end up losing his his visitation rights completely and/or having criminal charges filed against him for his actions; deliberate and wilful violation of a custody agreement is not something many judges take as lightly as this one did.

** [[spoiler:Miranda has one after acknowledging how much Daniel cared and loved their kids, how she actually deep down still loved Daniel and never hated him and how she and them misses him and his Mrs. Doubtfire personality.]]

* CaretakingIsFeminine: : Invoked. When recently-divorced Miranda Hillard interviews for a nanny to watch her three children while she's at work, there's not a single male in the group of prospects... as far as she knows. Subverted in that she ends up hiring their father, who fools her by disguising himself as a matronly Englishwoman in order to spend time with his kids.

--> '''Daniel:''' You don't have to run off when she honks the horn. C'mon, you're on my time now.

-->'''Daniel:''' Oh yeah, it's something I can really sink my teeth into! ''[removes false teeth]''
-->It's like I don't have the same face anymore! ''[removes mask]''

-->'''Miranda Hillard:''' They are very upset with me right now.
-->'''Mrs. Doubtfire:''' Probably the divorce.
-->'''Miranda Hillard:''' How did you know?

-->'''Lundy:''' ...Daniel??\\

-->'''Mrs. Doubtfire:''' ''(masculine voice)'' Mrs... ''(Doubtfire's voice)'' ...Sellner!

-->'''Mrs. Sellner:''' Well, I would love a cup of English tea.\\

-->'''Natalie:''' We're his goddamn kids, too! \\

** Jonathan Lundy, the head of the studio, accepts Daniel's criticism of his work, and is willing to give him his own show when he sees how creative he is. [[spoiler: When Daniel accidentally exposes himself as Mrs. Doubtfire, Lundy is impressed enough to give him his own show starring her, rather than disturbed]].

* SecretKeeper: [[spoiler: Lydia and Chris become this to their father after Chris [[UnsettlingGenderReveal accidentally walks in on Mrs. Doubtfire in the bathroom]]. They also agree not to let Natalie in on Daniel's ruse because she CannotKeepASecret.]]

** Kovacs the monkey puppet in the ShowWithinAShow is a nod to Creator/ErnieKovacs, who often used people in monkey suits on his ground-breaking cult TV show in the 1950's.

* {{Tuckerization}}: The character Aunt Jack was named after Robin Williams's favourite characters in ''The Aunty Jack Show'' (an Australian TV series).

* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: Used by Daniel. While modeling one of the disguises he tries out (a stereotypical ''baba''), he says "I should never buy ''gribenes'' [[labelnote: trans.]] pieces of crispy-fried poultry skin, the Jewish answer to pork rinds[[/labelnote]] from a ''mohel'' [[labelnote:trans.]] the rabbi who performs the bris ([[{{Squick}} ritual circumcision]]) on baby Jewish boys[[/labelnote]]. They're so chewy!"

* ArtisticLicenseFilmProduction: At the beginning of the film, Daniel is working as a voice actor watching a fully animated clip and trying to lip sync his dialogue to it. Chris Columbus even points out in the commentary that in animation all voice acting is completed before anything is drawn (save for ADR, which usually takes care of things like grunts and groans and such) but that doing it this way made more sense to the plot. It could not be taken as Daniel dubbing a foreign cartoon, either, since the lip-sync in the cartoon (produced by Creator/ChuckJones) is clearly English. Daniel is more than likely just doing post-production looping, either to just do touch ups on certain lines, or maybe [[TheOtherMarty Daniel replaced another actor,]] [[invoked]] and is recording over the previous actor's work. Which makes sense from his conversation with the producer who complains that this session is already costing the studio and they're on a deadline. Also, you don't typically have a censor board overseeing the actual dubbing/recording of a cartoon... that would waste far too much of their time. (Maybe they were just there to hotbox inside the booth?)

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Miranda, an interior decorator, recommends a "17th century grand piano" for Stuart's bed and breakfast. Aside from the fact that the first piano wasn't made until 1720 whereas the term "17th century" refers to the 1600s, the grand piano as we know it today wasn't invented until the later years of the 19th century. However there did exist a more primitive similar instrument known as the harpsichord in the 1600s, though the strings in those were still plucked which makes it a string instrument (hence the name ''harp''sichord) as opposed to a piano's string-striking hammers making it a percussion instrument.

** Miranda's boss, who's played by Creator/MartinMull, references a Wellman house. Martin Mull had starred in ''{{Series/Roseanne}}'', where Wellman Plastics was a featured industry.

* NoAntagonist: There are no villains or even characters [[HateSink we're meant to hate]]. Daniel and Miranda are both flawed but sympathetic and her boyfriend Stu, who would normally fit the role of bad guy, is presented as a perfectly nice and caring person who sincerely really likes the kids. The judge and officers of the court are also presented as being reasonable and well-meaning even when they rule against Daniel.

* CustodyBattle: When Miranda gets a divorce from Daniel, she gets primary custody while he can only see their children once a week. Daniel disguises himself as "Mrs. Doubtfire" and gets hired as Miranda's nanny so he can spend more time with the kids while pursuing joint custody. When his ruse is exposed, the judge limits his visitation rights even more. Eventually, Miranda realizes that she and the kids were happier when Daniel was more involved in the family and agrees to joint custody.

Daniel Hillard (Williams) is a newly unemployed voice actor in a rocky marriage. One day, after going behind his wife's back and throwing a wild and expensive birthday party for their son, resulting in their house being trashed, his wife, Miranda (Field), is finally tired of his antics and asks for a divorce. Only allowed to see their three children once a week, Daniel tries to get a new job and shape up his life so that he may receive joint custody. He discovers that Miranda is looking for a nanny to take care of the kids after school. She won't allow him to babysit them, so with the aid of his make-up artist brother, Daniel disguises himself as Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, an elderly, matronly Scottish woman. He is quickly hired by his ex-wife and uses the opportunity to secretly spend time with his children. Things get more complicated, though, as Miranda starts dating an old friend, Stu (Brosnan), and Daniel finds that his family can't bear to part with Mrs. Doubtfire.

** The judge is sympathetic to Daniel during the initial proceedings, saying that he's an obviously loving father and it would be unfair to grant Miranda sole custody simply because she's the mother. He gives him 90 days to find a stable job and create a suitable living space, after which he offers to consider joint custody. Once Daniel is exposed, he does still seem to be sympathetic, but notes that while he's technically completed these tasks, his behavior isn't exactly a sign of a stable, honest father-figure and refuses to expand visitation rights.

* TalkingToHimself: An InUniverse example occurs in the opening sequence. When recording lines for a cartoon, Daniel is doing the voices for both present characters.

* AnAesop: The moral is that sometimes divorce happens and it isn't the end of the family. Daniel and Miranda are presented as having valid reasons to divorce because they've grown into different people than they were before and Miranda doesn't love Daniel as much as she once did. Both still clearly love their kids. The ending focuses on Mrs. Doubtfire addressing a child that wrote to her about their parents getting divorced, and she explains that sometimes these things just happen with married couples, and it may be for the best for them so they can grow to be better people apart and better parents, and they may or may not get back together eventually. The same scene also has Mrs Doubtfire say that non-traditional families are just as valid as traditional ones and it's the love that makes a family. nothing else.

** Some of the edits likely have more to do with the fact that [[Creator/DiscoveryFamily The Hub]] is attempting to fit a two-and-a-half hour movie into a two-hour timeslot. AMC's edit of the film bizarrely mutes Robin Williams saying "damn", but 5-year-old Mara Wilson can say "damn" in the same exact context.

%%* ChekhovsGun: Stu's pepper allergy.

* ChekhovsGun: Stu's pepper allergy.

* GilliganCut: Early in the film, Daniel's brother is trying to console him about his impending divorce, but Daniel assures him that it's just a temporary thing and will soon blow over. Cut to Daniel and his wife standing in court listening to a judge discuss custody arrangements.

** Later on, it's Miranda's birthday, and she's invited her kids, her new boyfriend Stu, and their housekeeper Mrs. Doubtfire (still unbeknownst to Miranda that she's actually her ex-husband Daniel DisguisedInDrag). As a prank, Mrs. Doubtfire laces Stu's jambalaya dish with the pepper [[PlotAllergy he's allergic to]]. [[spoiler:But among seeing [[PrankGoneTooFar Stu choking from the pepper]], Mrs. Doubtfire has a change of heart and performs the Heimlich maneuver on Stu, dislodging the piece of tainted shrimp from Stu's throat and saving him... but gets his LatexPerfection mask as part of his "Doubtfire" disguise dislodged. Miranda is absolutely ''horrified'' by this revelation that she gets very angry and upset and grabs the kids and leaves the restaurant in a fury.]]

** Some of the edits likely have more to do with the fact that [[Creator/DiscoveryFamily The Hub]] is attempting to fit a two and a half hour movie into a two hour timeslot. AMC's edit of the film bizarrely mutes Robin Williams saying "damn", but 5-year-old Mara Wilson can say "damn" in the same exact context.

** At "her" interview, Mrs. Doubtfire's resume states that she knows first aid, including the Heimlich Maneuver. This apparently isn't a lie (like the rest of the qualifications clearly are), as Daniel ends up needing to administer the Maneuver to Stuart later on. [[spoiler: This is also how Daniel gets caught by Miranda, because the latex mask peels away as he's doing the Heimlich Maneuver]].

** At the end of the film, when Daniel comes to take the children for the afternoon, the TV is on and it airs Mrs. Doubtfire's show. In this programme, Mrs. Doubtfire answers a letter from a young girl who's concerned about her parents' recent divorce and the future of their family.

* DadsCantCook: Initially played straight with Daniel. He has to order cheap Chinese food for his kids' first Saturday visit with him, and with his attempt to cook dinner on his first day as Mrs. Doubtfire going so hysterically wrong that he has to order takeout food from an expensive restaraunt. But finally {{Subverted|Trope}}, because he manages to teach himself proper cooking through televisions and books, becoming better as he goes on and is able to incorporate this skill into his role as a father.

* DeathGlare: Stu whips out his after Daniel (In disguise) throws a lime into the back of his head after Stu badmouthed him from afar. Luckily "Mrs. Doubtfire" is able to pin it on "some angry member of the kitchen staff" and so Stu is none the wiser.

* FlippingTheBird: After Stu brings Miranda home, he waves at Mrs. Doubtfire, and she waves back...then gives him the finger when he turns his back.

* GamesOfTheElderly: Daniel, dressed as the titular character, learns his family and a friend will be going to the same restaurant on the same date he is due to have a meeting with an executive at the studio he works. He attempts to get out of it saying "she" (Mrs Doubtfire) has bingo on that night and it is her turn to pull the balls.

* HardTruthAesop: Sorry kids, but sometimes it really ''is'' best for everybody involved that your parents get (and remain) divorced. People who are too different from one another simply can't function together, and need to be apart in order to be the parents that you need in your life. The original script actually did end with Daniel and Miranda getting back together, but Chris Columbus, Sally Field, and Robin Williams, who’d all been divorced, worried it would give children of divorced parents unreasonable hope and successfully got it changed.

* MenCantKeepHouse: Initially played straight with Daniel. His new apartment is a complete pigsty during his first couple weeks there (Which Miranda and Lydia [[BrutalHonesty are not subtle about]]). He also is a LethalChef, having to order cheap Chinese food for his kids first Saturday visit with him, and with his attempt to cook dinner on his first day as Mrs. Doubtfire going so hysterically wrong that he has to order takeout food from an expensive restaraunt. But he manages to teach himself proper housekeeping and cooking through televisions and books, becoming better as he goes on and is able to incorporate these skills into his role as a father.

** Miranda basically has one at the court case when Daniel is sentenced to psychiatric evaluation and increasingly restricted contact with the children despite his heartfelt speech, as she recognises that he isn't dangerous to the children even if she's unhappy with his deception.

* PlayboyHasADaughter: A variation. While Stu wasn't necessarily a womanizer, he definitely has a playboy lifestyle of expensive cars and country clubs. When he restarts his relationship with Miranda he takes an immediate liking to her three kids, especially the youngest, Natalie. When questioned by a friend who says Stu never wanted anything to do with kids, Stu responds be saying he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life alone.

** The judge is sympathetic to Daniel during the initial proceedings, saying that he's an obviously loving father and it would be unfair to grant Miranda sole custody simply because she's the mother. He gives him 90 days to find a stable job and create a suitable living space, after which he offers to consider joint custody. Once Daniel is exposed, he does still seem to be sympathetic, but notes that while he's technically completed these tasks, his behaviour isn't exactly a sign of a stable, honest father-figure and refuses to expand visitation rights.

** The show at the very beginning doubles as GeniusBonus: Daniel's introduced singing Figaro's Aria from ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville'' - the animation style is a reference to Woody Woodpecker's ''WesternAnimation/TheBarberOfSeville'' - but just like the actual Figaro from the opera, Daniel's a talented and dramatic liar/actor, who is as good-humoured as he is snarky. [[WholePlotReference Both the opera and Mrs Doubtfire are about men disguising themselves to be with their loved ones]].

* TakingTheKids: Since Daniel is currently unemployed, the judge grants Miranda sole custody of the children, but agress to give Daniel joint custody if he can find a suitable job to support the children in three months.