Director Roman Polanski's children have parts in this movie. Morgane Polanski played the farmer's daughter, and Elvis Polanski played the boy with the hoop.
To keep the child actors of Fagin's gang in character, Sir Ben Kingsley kept his mannerisms (speech and hunch-walk) and his physical appearance as Fagin even off-set.
The idea of making a new version of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" was suggested by Emmanuelle Seigner, director Roman Polanski's wife, while he was looking for a plot that their children would find interesting.
In Europe, this movie grossed more than five times what it grossed in the U.S. bringing its take to about $40 million U.S., although it was considered a box-office failure.