In order to cover the necessary camera tricks, and to add "magic" to the Little Mermaid ballet, it was decided that, rather than presenting it as an actual ballet, they would have Hans imagine how it would look. This allowed them to do things on the screen which would be impossible on the stage.
Zizi Jeanmaire and Roland Petit, who choreographed the film as well as appearing as The Prince in The Little Mermaid ballet, would marry in 1954. They continued to collaborate on numerous ballets right until Petit's death in 2011.
While this film directly adapts some of Andersen's best-known stories - "The Emperor's New Clothes", "Thumbelina", and "The Ugly Duckling" as songs; "The Little Mermaid" as a fantasy ballet sequence - it also subtly alludes to others. For instance, when Hans and his ward Peter first enter the Great Square of Copenhagen, they pass a woman selling matches. This is a hint to "The Little Match Girl". Also, a major subplot of the film is Hans' unrequited love for the beautiful yet detached ballerina Doro. This is an homage to "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", where a disabled toy soldier has a doomed romance with a ballerina doll.
Throughout the film, the Danish capital is pronounced "Copenhawgen." This is the German pronunciation and is disliked by many Danes, whose country was occupied during World War 2. Danes prefer that English speakers say "Copenhaygen."