Trivia / The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit

• Creator's Favorite Episode: Well, movie, but out of all the films of his works, Ray Bradbury claimed that this movie was his favorite. Not only did the production faithfully stick to the screenplay he provided, but he was there every day on set to watch the filming unfold. Producer and director Stuart Gordon claims it was also the movie he had the most fun with.
• Direct to Video: Disney and Micheal Eisner didn't want to make the film, believing it was too small of a project and didn't have wide appeal. Roy Disney, who was a big fan of the play and went to see it many times, was the one who greenlit the project, but stipulations from the company meant the film was limited to a five million dollar budget and would be released straight to video under the Touchstone Pictures label, which he was overseeing at the time. It was shown at the Sundance and Austin Film Festivals before going straight to VHS, but never saw a theatrical release despite Bradbury requesting it for years.
• Inspiration for the Work: The story and characters are based around Bradbury's own experiences with Mexican-American immigrants he had met when he was living in east Los Angeles. He was also living in poverty at the time and had to share clothes with his father and brother, saw as his neighbors do the same, and saw what wearing a suit meant to them. When actor Clifton Collins Jr. asked him why he would write a story about these people, Bradbury replied, "I hung out with them!"
• Invisible Advertising: The film was shown at film festivals and went straight to video with minimal advertising. Most people only learned about the film because they were already fans of Ray Bradbury's works, caught a trailer or saw the tape at a store.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Good luck finding physical copies of the movie. VHS copies weren't as difficult to find but are increasingly becoming so given the outdated format. The only DVD release was through the Disney Movie Club and has since gone out of print. Before the movie became available on streaming services in the early 2010's, these were the only legal ways to even enjoy the film.
• Method Acting: To prepare for the role as Vámonos, Edward James Olmos decided to go around scrounging trash cans in the area in character, covering himself in grime and seeing how everyone around him would react. It became so convincing that when he arrived for rehearsal in full costume, someone called the police. When Olmos told them it was for a character in a movie, they started laughing.
• Playing Against Type: According to this article, Edward James Olmos recalls that when he told Stuart Gordon that he wanted to play the role as Vámonos, Gordon, who had only seen Olmos in serious roles, took a long beat before saying, "Well, that's different." He wasn't convinced at first, but Olmos acted out the lines and proved he could indeed do comedy.
• Real-Life Relative: Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez, best known for his roles in John Wayne movies following his appearance on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life, appears as Martinez's landlord in his final film appearance. Martinez, played by Clifton Collins Jr., is actually his real life grandson, who credited himself as "Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez" in tribute to his grandfather. At his obituary, he was credited by Olmos as inspiration to all Latino actors.
• Role Reprise: Joe Mantegna reprises his role as Gomez, who he had previously played in the Organic Theater's production of the play.
• Screwed by the Network: Even though Roy Disney helped greenlight the project, Disney's hesitance to make the movie meant that the movie would be restricted to a tight budget of five million. They also gave it minimal marketing and refused to release it in theaters, heavily limiting its exposure.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The film was originally going to be an animated movie. When the idea was axed, Roy Disney ensured that the movie would survive as a live-action film.
  • For the role of Vámonos, Gordon wanted a comedian for the role and was considering Paul Rodriguez, offering Edward James Olmos the role of Villanazul. To Gordon's surprise, Olmos asked if he could play Vámonos instead.