The fairy tale from which extracts were recited in the film was The Hobyahs by James H. Fassett and Robert D. San Souci.
The film was inspired by a newspaper article about the Bolte Government of Victoria's 1950s rabbit muster.
The age of the Celia Carmichael character portrayed by actress Rebecca Smart was nine years. Smart was twelve years old when the movie was filmed in 1988.
For this film, in 1989, then young actress Rebecca Smart won the Best Actress award at the Salso Maggiore Film and Television Festival.
The film was a financial failure at the box office in both Australia and around the world.