David Paterson, who was the real-life inspiration for the character of Jess Aarons, the son of Katherine Paterson (author of the original book), and producer and screenwriter for the remake Le Secret de Térabithia (2007), referred to this version as being "like the crazy cousin that nobody talks about" and went on to say that "no one on our side was either involved with it or happy with the final product".
This movie was filmed for PBS.
The song that the kids and Miss Edmunds sing in music on the first day of school is "Circle" by Harry Chapin.