Billing Displacement: The cast list uses the "in order of appearance" layout, placing Thumbelina third in line while Jacquimo, the sidekick, was the first billed.
Box Office Bomb: $28 million went into making the film. Final box office tally? Just over $11 million.
Channel Hop: The film was originally going to be released by MGM, as seen in this trailer, but that fell through (likely due to MGM's troubles after Italian fraudster Giancarlo Paretti took over the studio and ran it into the ground). So, Warner Bros. released the film. The rights along with those of A Troll in Central Park were sold to 20th Century Fox after Rupert Murdoch took over Media Assets, which had bankrolled Thumbelina, Troll and The Pebble and the Penguin, with WB formally ceding the rights to all three in 2000. As of 2019, all three films belong to Disney (except the US rights to Pebble, which are with stateside distributor MGM).
Creator Backlash: Bluth is not extremely proud of this film. He was forced to write the screenplay in one week, and as he said in one interview, "You can't write a script in a week".
Troubled Production: The script was rewritten over and over for nearly a year until, out of sheer desperation to get physical production started, the original screenwriter was fired and Bluth was forced to write it himself in a single week. This is his only solo screenwriting credit.
Assorted Trivia:
Thumbelina was the first ever animated film to win a Golden Raspberry Award; "Marry the Mole" won in the category of "Worst Song". Until 2014, it had the distinction of being the only animated film to win a Razzie.
Warner Bros. held two versions of the test screenings; one with their logo, and one with the Disney logo. The reactions for the first screening were lukewarm at best, while the reactions for the showings with the Disney logo were much more positive.
, but that fell through (likely due to MGM's troubles after Italian fraudster Giancarlo Paretti took over the studio and ran it into the ground). So, Warner Bros. released the film. The rights along with those of A Troll in Central Park were sold to 20th Century Fox after Rupert Murdoch took over Media Assets, which had bankrolled Thumbelina, Troll and The Pebble and the Penguin, with WB formally ceding the rights to all three in 2000. As of 2019, all three films belong to Disney (except the US rights to Pebble, which are with stateside distributor MGM).