When looking for Fat Sam, director Alan Parker went to a Brooklyn classroom and asked who was the naughtiest boy in class; all the class replied John Cassisi, who subsequently got the part.
Over a thousand cream pies were thrown during the making of the movie.
The pedal-driven cars could achieve a maximum speed of around ten miles (16 kilometers) per hour. They were all custom-built by hand and each cost around the same amount of money as a regular road-going Mini at the time.
Director Alan Parker once said of the production of this movie: "If I'd have gone sick on Bugsy Malone, I swear she [Jodie Foster] could have taken over."
The average age of all the child actors and actresses in the movie was twelve.