After this movie, Hatty Jones had auditioned for the role of Hermione Granger for Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal (2001). She and Emma Watson were down to the final two, and the role went to Watson since Jones was considered too old.
One half of the girls are French, while the other half are English.
Michael Caine, John Cleese, Tim Curry, Eric Idle, Ian McKellen and Alan Rickman were considered for the role of Lord Covington.
In the scene where Madeline falls into the River Seine, Hatty Jones explained in an interview that it was a stunt double who fell into the river and the close-up views of Jones in the river, she was actually in a swimming pool full of chocolate powder.