Whenever this film was shot on location, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and the crew would clean the area of debris, grime, trash and graffiti, so that the real settings would match the fantastic nature of the film. This was an especially difficult task when it came time to shoot at the huge train station.
Audrey Tautou doesn't know how to skip stones; the stone-skipping scenes were made with special effects.
The main colors in the film (green, yellow and red) are inspired by the paintings of the Brazilian artist Juarez Machado.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet originally wanted Michael Nyman to score the film, but was unable to get him. Someone then gave Jeunet a CD by Yann Tiersen, who composes in a similar minimalist style, but with an extremely quirky, eclectic mix of instruments. Jeunet fell in love with the music and scored the film largely with existing pieces by Tiersen, for which he bought the rights. In addition, Tiersen wrote an original main theme, "La Valse d'Amelie," which was recorded in numerous variations and used throughout the film.
It was in 1974 that Jean-Pierre Jeunet began collecting the memories and events that make up the story of Amélie.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: [orphans] Death of Amélie's mother. An orphan is considered to have lost both parents. As Amélie's father is still alive, she is not considered an orphan. However, Jean-Pierre Jeunet often portrays children who have suffered the loss of one or both parents.