Chicago comedian Matt Bryne did a performance art piece claiming he directed this movie, until he received a cease and desist letter.
Production took 6 years, with several delays and re-writes.
The first draft of the script had several references to Happy Feet (2006). Studio execs worried the film was too similar, and ordered the writers to rewrite the whole thing.
The film was going to go straight-to-DVD before the studio decided to put it in theaters.
This is Bill Nighy's fifth animated film, after Souris City (2006), Astro Boy (2009), Rango (2011), and Mission: Noël - Les aventures de la famille Noël (2011).