Trivia / The Adventures of Mark Twain

• Acclaimed Flop: It got glowing reviews from critics but a very limited release in only seven cities. It only got its widest release early the next year to coincide with the arrival of Halley's Comet (the real Mark Twain died the last time the comet reached perihelion). All in all, this led to a paltry $849,915 total gross from a $1.5 million budget. This was the first release by Atlantic Releasing's Clubhouse Pictures label which sputtered in 1989.
• Banned in China: Or the USA, in this case — sort of. The infamous segment based on The Mysterious Stranger is often described as a banned cartoon. As it turns out, a lot of the networks that aired the movie simply chose to cut that scene out because they understandably considered it too creepy for young audiences (similar to what some networks did with the infamous tunnel scene in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory).
• Completely Different Title: The film was named Comet Quest in the UK.
• Meaningful Release Date: The film was intended to coincide with the arrival of Halley's Comet which reached perihelion in 1835 (the year Twain was born) and 1910 (the year Twain died). It was released a year before the comet's 1986 return.
• Pop-Culture Urban Legends: Despite some claims that have been circulating online, there's no evidence that the Mysterious Stranger sequence was ever banned from airing on TV.
• What Could Have Been: In terms of Will Vinton and his studio, There were many other plans for theatrical movies by the studio such as an adaptation of The Frog Prince (Which became a stage play), an unknown live-action/CGI animated film that was pitched to DreamWorks SKG, and a planned California Raisins movie in 2001. These films were scrapped for various reasons such as lack of funding and the closure of the studio in 2003.

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