''Madame Doubtfire'', known as ''Alias Madame Doubtfire'' in the United States, is a 1987

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

written by English author

Anne Fine Anne Fine OBE FRSL (born 7 December 1947) is an English writer. Although best known for children's books, she also writes for adults. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and she was appointed an OBE in 2003. Fine has written mor ...

for teenage and young adult audiences. The novel is based on a family with divorced parents. Well received upon its publication in the UK, it was shortlisted for awards, including the

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...

and Whitbread Children's Book Award. In November 1993, six years after its publication, the novel was adapted into ''

Mrs. Doubtfire ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It was written for the screen by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, based on the 1987 novel ''Alias Madame Doubtfire'' by Anne Fine. Robin Williams, who also s ...

'', a film starring

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

and

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...

Synopsis

Daniel and Miranda Hillard are separated and Miranda, a successful businesswoman, severely limits the amount of time Daniel, an impractical, out-of-work actor, is allowed to spend with their three children Lydia, Christopher and Natalie. When Miranda decides to hire a nanny, however, Daniel disguises himself as a woman and gets the job. Lydia and Christopher immediately know who "Madame Doubtfire" is, but Natalie and Miranda are fooled. Daniel uses his disguise to spend time with his children. Miranda comments that the house has never been run better. After Miranda discovers Daniel's secret—and after one more terrible fight—both parents admit to mistakes and make arrangements for Daniel to see his children more often.

Awards and nominations

* 1987:

(shortlist)“Awards and Honours”
Annefine.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2019 * 1987: Observer Teenage Fiction Prize (shortlist) * 1987: Whitbread Children's Book Award (shortlist)

Film adaptation

The feature film adaptation was produced by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

(with a budget of $25 million) and was released on 24 November 1993. The adaptation was directed by Chris Columbus, and written by

Randi Mayem Singer Randi Mayem Singer is an American screenwriter, producer and showrunner best known for writing the screenplay to the 20th Century Fox blockbuster comedy ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' starring Robin Williams and Sally Field. Professional career Randi May ...

and

Leslie Dixon Leslie Dixon is an American screenwriter and film producer. She began her career as an original screenwriter, writing films such as 1987's '' Outrageous Fortune'' and '' Overboard''. She then moved into adaptations and re-writes, developing the ...

played the eponymous character, and

played his wife Miranda. In the film, his disguise includes a prosthetic mask, which is so convincing that no one in his family recognizes him at first.

Greg Cannom Greg Cannom (born 1951) is an American special make-up effects artist. He is the recipient of several accolades, including five Academy Awards and two Saturn Awards, and has been nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards and four BAFTA Awards. C ...

Ve Neill Ve Neill (born Mary Flores; 1951) is an American makeup artist. She has won three Academy Awards, for the films ''Beetlejuice'', ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' and ''Ed Wood''. She has been nominated for eight Oscars in total. Early life Neill recounts th ...

, and

Yolanda Toussieng Yolanda Toussieng (born 1949) is a two-time Oscar-winning makeup artist. Her first win came at the 1993 Academy Awards for Best Makeup for the film ''Mrs. Doubtfire'', which she shared with Greg Cannom and Ve Neill. The second win was at 1994 ...

received the

Academy Award for Best Makeup The Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is the Academy Award given to the best achievement in makeup and hairstyling for film. Traditionally, three films have been nominated each year with exceptions in the early 1980s and 2002 when the ...

for creating ''Mrs. Doubtfire''. Grossing $441.3 million worldwide, it became the second-highest-grossing film of 1993, behind only ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

.''

References

{{Anne Fine 1987 British novels British comedy novels British novels adapted into films British young adult novels Comedy literature characters Costa Book Award-winning works Cross-dressing in literature Hamish Hamilton books Literary characters introduced in 1987 Novels about actors Novels by Anne Fine

Synopsis

Awards and nominations

Film adaptation

See also

References