Robin Williams, five years on: Deleted scenes reveal Mrs Doubtfire was nearly too heartbreaking for families

Two scenes didn’t find their way into family comedy Mrs Doubtfire because they were too heartbreaking for families.

The film, which stars Robin Williams – who died five years ago today – follows Daniel Hillard, a divorced actor who disguises himself as the titular housekeeper in order to spend time with his children in custody of his ex-wife (Sally Field).

While it has its fair share of emotional scenes, Mrs Doubtfire is primarily remembered for being light-hearted entertainment, led superbly by the brilliant Williams and director Chris Columbus (Home Alone, the first two Harry Potter films).

This very nearly wasn’t the case as these two deleted scenes show.

One clip shows their daughter, Lydia (Lisa Jakub), participating in a spelling bee before being distracted by her parents bickering in the crowd.

Outside, she wonders why her parents can’t just “pretend” to love each other.

The following scene shows the fallout from Sally realising Daniel is, in fact, Mrs Doubtfire; while this is a realisation that horrifies her in the finished film, this deleted footage depicts an extremely brutal argument between parents through the eyes of their children.

It’s genuinely tough to watch and could potentially hit extremely close to home for some.

You can watch them below.

Sure, the classic moments would have remained hilarious if these scenes had found their way into the finished film, but it’s difficult to imagine laughing quite so hard had they been there.