The first animated feature to have been created in Wales. The film was produced in two countries, with Siriol Animation based in Cardiff, Wales, and Pannonia Film Studio in Budapest, Hungary.
The final theatrical film of both Peggy Mount and Roy Kinnear. For Kinnear, the film would be released posthumously.
This film was made independently and released by independent distributors. It premiered in some territories in December 1991, in the United Kingdom and some other countries in December 1992, and in the United States in June 1994, where it had the bad luck of being released at the same time as The Lion King (1994). The film was a critical and commercial failure, earning back only $2 million (USD) against its $10 million (USD) production budget.
Joss Ackland (King Papa) and Claire Bloom (Great Great Grandmother) also started together in Queenie (1987), Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1995), Tales from the Madhouse (2000), and notably Shadowlands (1986) in which they portrayed author C.S. Lewis and his wife, the author Joy Davidman. George MacDonald, the author of the novel upon which this movie is based, was a great influence on the life and writing of Lewis.