Alias Madame Doubtfire

It's hard to think of "Madame Doubtfire" without getting visions of Robin Williams, and I suspect most people are unaware that the story of the father who poses as a female housekeeper in order to be close to his children was originally a Young Adult's novel by Anne Fine. With only about five years between the publication of the book and the release of the movie, there was very little opportunity for the book to stand on its own before being Americanized into Mrs. Doubtfire the movie (the book is set in Britain. Perhaps the American adaptation tries to compensate by making their Mrs Doubtfire claim she's British...and yet giving her a Scottish accent). The movie acts as a vehicle for Robin William's comedic talents, with the three children taking a backseat to the struggles and tribulations of their parents; what with Daniel attempting to find a new job that makes the most of his abilities, and Miranda dating a new love interest, all of which centers around Daniel's struggle to negotiate his role as Mrs Doubtfire with his real persona. Amidst all of this, the children themselves are barely noticed. Fine's book on the other hand, is much more interested in the very-real damage that divorce proceedings has on young minds, and Lydia, Christopher and Natalie emerge as much stronger and more central characters. Beginning several months (perhaps years) after the divorce of Daniel and Miranda Hilliard, the children have formed their own ways of coping with the vicious fighting and bickering that goes on between their embittered parents, and it's quite heart-rending to read about. But after Miranda tells Daniel about her intention of hiring a housekeeper, Daniel tampers with the advertisement and then turns up on her doorstep - unrecognizable in drag. Calling himself Mrs Doubtfire, he soon makes himself indispensable to Miranda and the household, all the while covertly relishing the extra time he gets to spend with his children. Although following the same basic plotline, Fine's book is considerably more British, as well as more focused on the children's welfare. As such, it is darker than the light-hearted family movie, with the children clearly suffering under the continuous vindictiveness of their parents, who seem to be more interested in making each other suffer than in taking care of their children on an emotional level. The children are considerably more intelligent that their movie counterparts, with Lydia in particular picking up immediately on her father's disguise, and all three of them helping their father keep his secret. Each one has different tactics of dealing with the new situation - most interestingly is young Natalie's way of dealing with her father's dual role by quite firmly refusing to acknowledge that Daniel and Mrs Doubtfire are one and the same. There are other differences, including the fact that Daniel actually has a job as a nude model for the neighbourhood art class, as opposed to eventually landing a job as a television

The Hilliard kids have divorced parents. their mom hardly ever gives them time with their dad. Even when they are with their dad their mom always makes it bad. That is why when they need a babysitter dad comes to the rescue...sort of. He gets the job as sweet old Maddame Doubtfire This book is hilarious from egogs (hedgehogs) and the Mrs. Sippy river to the dads new job as a ... modeler.