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There's 2 million feet of film from the making of Mrs. Doubtfire thanks to Robin Williams' improvisation

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By Emily Garbutt published 22 November 2023

"We would say to Robin, 'we’re out of film.' That happened on several occasions"

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Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
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Mrs. Doubtfire director Chris Columbus has revealed that there are two million feet of film with movie footage on it – and he'd love to put together a documentary with it. 

"There are roughly 972 boxes of footage from Doubtfire – footage we used in the movie, outtakes, behind-the-scenes footage – in a warehouse somewhere and we would like to hire an editor to go in and look at all of that," Columbus told Insider in a new interview to celebrate 30 years of the beloved comedy.

"There is something special and magical about how [Williams] went about his work, and I think it would be fun to delve into it,"  he explained. "I mean, there’s 2 million feet of film in that warehouse so there could be something we can do with all of that."

The 1993 movie follows recently divorced voice actor Daniel (Williams) who's denied shared custody of his kids until he finds a steady job. In order to spend time with them, he disguises himself as an elderly female housekeeper named Euphegenia Doubtfire – and countless hijinks ensue. 

"If it were today, we would never end," Columbus continued. "But back then, we were shooting film so once we were out of film in the camera, we would say to Robin, 'We’re out of film.' That happened on several occasions.

"It got to the point that I had to shoot the entire movie with four cameras to keep up with him. None of us knew what he was going to say when he got going, and so I wanted a camera on the other actors to get their reactions. For Pierce Brosnan and Sally Field, it was quite difficult for them not to break character."

Mrs. Doubtfire is currently available to stream on Disney Plus. For more, check out our picks of the other best movies on Disney Plus to add to your watch list. 

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Emily Garbutt
Emily Garbutt
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Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related. I help bring you all the latest news, features, and reviews, as well as helming our Big Screen Spotlight column. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.

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