In the early 1970s, an American margarine company convinced a fancy French restaurant to prepare two identical dishes, one made with their margarine and the other made with real butter, and offer both dishes to their customers for comparison. Cameras recorded the customers sampling the dishes and saying, "No difference". These were shown in American commercials for the margarine. This is the inspiration for the blindfolded French chef who appears repeatedly in the film, saying "NO DEE-FRAWNCE!" in a thick and phony French accent.
Movie debut of announcer Dick Tufeld, the voice of the robot from the TV series Lost in Space (1965).
The film spoofs an oil spill made by fictional company "Axxon" which caused an environmental disaster. 13 years later, Exxon had an oil spill that caused an environmental disaster.
The film takes place in 1985.