The news that a sequel to Mrs Doubtfire was in the works seems to have caught fire on the internet today quicker than Robin William’s fake boobs did. When word hit the web the general reaction seemed to be one of excitement at the prospect of Mrs Doubtfire follow up which would come a lengthly 21 years after the original. The reaction isn’t really surprising, given how great the original was, but really is a sequel what we wanted? Although no one really wants to say it, could Mrs Doubtfire 2 actually be a pretty terrible idea?

Robin WilliamsCould Robin Williams be Mrs Doubtfire again?

There’s no debating that the original Mrs Doubtfire was a classic example of early 90s family friendly comedy. It had all the right ingredients, a star performance from Robin Williams, a great supporting cast, a ludicrous yet hilarious plot and also a sweet and sincere underlying message. Actually, in the field of family friendly comedy, Mrs Doubtfire was pretty much perfect. That’s why news of a sequel should be greeted a little more apprehensively.

Of course sequels are the big thing these days, sometimes it seems like if a movie can’t be ‘franchised’ than it’s not really worth doing. The idea that every movie needs a follow up is now even extending to films you would have thought were long past their time for a sequel. We’ve got Dumber and Dumber To coming out later this year and a Goonies follow up is also said to be in the works. Like Mrs Doubtfire those two films are over 20 years old, yet for some reason they’re being resurrected again for a second outing.

Robin WilliamsDo we really want to see mrs Doubtfire 21 years on?

For Dumb and Dumber 2 and The Goonies, the ideas might not be that far fetched, both films have a story which could lend itself to being revisited 20 years later. Mrs Doubtfire? Not so much. It’s actually pretty hard to think of what they could do with a sequel, now the children are all grown up and William’s himself is 62. What it could be is a continuation of Daniel’s story with him now being a tv star in the Mrs Doubtfire guise. This would make it something completely different from the original film and could lead the whole charm of the character being lost. Really Mrs Doubtfire wasn't so well loved because the idea of Robin Williams in drag is intrinsically funny, it's more because the movie exhibited so much charm and underlying depth. Without the plot line of a father going to any and all lengths to stay in his children’s lives the whole concept might just fall flat.

Really it’s hard to imagine that this movie could be being made for any reason other than money, which of course is at the root of all Hollywood endeavours. The only other reason could be that Williams and director Chris Columbus have some sort of amazing idea up their sleeve that they just had to make happen. Sadly, that’s probably unlikely.


Perhaps the person to put it best was actress Mara Wilson, who played one of the daughters in the original movie. When world got out of a sequel, she took to twitter to stop any rumours of her involvement saying, “For the record, no, I do not have anything to do with the Mrs. Doubtfire sequel, nor will I.” Wilson, who is now retired from acting later added, “Sequels generally suck unless they were planned as part of a trilogy or series. I think Doubtfire ended where it needed to end.” Wilson is probably right, Mrs Doubtfire did end where it needed to end and really a sequel, especially this long after the original, just seems a bit unnecessary. Sorry Mrs Doubtfire, but we do hope you can prove us wrong.

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