Bill Kroyer, the original director of this movie, intended to make a darker movie, more faithful in tone to the original book. Following the phenomenal successes of the movies of the Disney Renaissance, Warner Brothers, among many other studios, moved into feature animation, hoping to replicate similar successes with their own animated movies. At Warner Brothers' behest, Kroyer's vision for this movie was rejected, in favor of a more Disney animated musical movie-style, and the movie was put into production before the story was even finalized. The complex plot and dark nature of the novel, The King's Damousel, were replaced with several animation trademarks of the 1990s-era: musical numbers, a strong female heroine, a power hungry antagonist who wants to usurp the kingdom, a romantic subplot where the couple lives happily ever after, talking animal sidekicks, and family-friendly comedy gags.
In July 2019, Eric Idle said on Twitter that he and Don Rickles "ad-libbed for days" but the filmmakers "didn't use a single line."
An aspect of the movie that makes it unique is having a main character who is not only blind, but remains blind. They opted to not revert what so many others had done and have his eyesight restored through some sort of magic, so that in the end, the two heroes ride off together just as they were.
Ruber's potion bottle says "Acme".
The scantily-clad girl, who briefly appears during Devon and Cornwall's song, is "Red Hot Riding Hood, featured in Red Hot Riding Hood (1943) and several other 1940s MGM cartoons.