Tien and Chiaotzu do not appear in this film, despite being seen on the poster. This was out of respect for Tien's voice actor Hirotaka Suzuoki, who had passed away. In the accompanying manga comic, they both appear in minor roles.
Tarble's wife Gure resembles a Tekuteku Alien, an alien race that appeared in Akira Toriyama's comics "Dr Slump" and "Neko Majin". However, the race is portrayed as hostile, in contrast to Gure's docile nature (and in a parallel to Goku, who is a gentle soul in contrast to his race's harsh attitude).
This feature takes place in the era between Majin Buu's defeat and Uub's appearance (which marks the ending of Dragon Ball Z (1989)). However, the DBZ features Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013) and Dragon Ball Z : La Résurrection de 'F' (2015) and Dragon Ball Super (2015) mark this as the beginning of a new timeline which effectively splits off the events of DBZ's sequel Dragon Ball GT (1996) into a new continuity (though most fans consider GT as non-canon since creator Akira Toriyama wasn't involved).
Goku grows a crop of radishes. This is an in-joke to Goku's brother Raditz, the first villain from Dragon Ball Z (1989) (and also foreshadows the appearance of Vegeta's brother).