Feature film debut of Michael J. Fox, who was cast because the movie was shot predominantly at night and they needed an actor who was over 18 but could pass for 15. The studio heads were initially unconvinced, so they did makeup tests to make him look as young as possible and then did a photo shoot in which he was placed next to the tallest cast members. This did the trick and landed him the job.
The stop motion animation series Robot Chicken (2005) (shown on Adult Swim) has featured brief homages to this movie, two in season one, episode ten, "Badunkadunk," and one in season two, episode six, "1987." In the first episode, two scenes from the movie are reenacted, one where Leon reveals himself to the team leaders, another, where Blue Team member Barf assembles the letters of a clue into the nonsense word "Fagabeefe." In the second episode, the chant of "Meat Machine" is reenacted.
The movie inspired Joe Belfiore, a high school junior in Clearwater, Florida, to create a similar game. He took the game with him to Stanford University, then ultimately to Microsoft. The Game, as it came to be called, in turn, inspired the movie The Game (1997).
Alan Solomon was picked out of a crowd and given the role of "game master" Leon based solely upon his unusual looks. In real life, Solomon went on to supervise and produce a variety of game shows.
The Star Fire game in the video arcade that provides the clue to the final destination, was an actual arcade game of the period. The game play was real. However, a special open cabinet for a standing player had been created for the movie, since the real game cabinet was an enclosed cockpit, in which the player was seated.