An American/Japanese co-production between Murakami-Wolf-Swenson (now Fred Wolf Films Dublin) and Toei Animation, the movie was based upon the poster character of the same name created by pop artist Stewart Moskowitz.
The artist's characters were adopted as the mascots for many major Japanese companies, hence the film's backing by Japanese investors and the participation of the aforementioned Toei Animation.
Legendary animator Shingo Araki was among the animation staff working on the film. The screenplay was written by Norman Lenzer, from the ABC television movie "The Point!" It was co-directed by Fred Wolf, and longtime Toei Animation director Nobutaka Nishizawa.