The scene with Leslie Zevo (Robin Williams) addressing his troops was ad-libbed. Levinson kept a camera rolling everytime Williams was on-set.
Robin Williams states that dyeing his hair orange and the costume he wore made him feel like The Sixth Doctor in "Doctor Who (1963)."
Lieutenant General Leland Zevo mentions building armed "toy" planes and refers to himself as the "General of tomorrow". Small pilotless aircraft have been used by militaries since World War I, but the RQ-1 Predator (a system that closely resembles General Zevo's idea) entered service three years after this movie was released.
Released about a month after the release of "Aladdin (1992)," in which Robin Williams voiced the Genie. Because of this, Williams asked Disney to keep his name out of the marketing for "Aladdin" (1992) and for the Genie to not take up more than twenty-five percent of the movie's ad space. Disney ended up going back on the deal on both counts, resulting in a falling out between Williams and the studio.
Barry Levinson: [Ralph Tabakin] Ralph (Fred) has appeared in every Levinson picture from Diner (1982) to Liberty Heights (1999).