Source novelist Patty Dann has said of this filmed adaptation: "It was wonderful and a bit overwhelming. I would be sorting socks on the bed and get calls like, Barbra Streisand wants to do the movie, and I'd just say, sure, and then Cher ended up playing the mother. It was a wild experience. I like the movie very much. The first time I saw it without music it had a very different feel, and it took a while to get used to the soundtrack. When I wrote it, I never thought about music in the background, but now I put the music on sometimes when I clean the house."
This was to be director Lasse Hallström's American film debut. He repeatedly clashed with Cher, and was replaced by Frank Oz, then Richard Benjamin.
Christina Ricci's older sister and brother appear as extras in the swim meet scene. They sit behind Charlotte, Rachel, and Lou.
Emily Lloyd was originally cast as Charlotte, and had already started shooting scenes. Cher complained that the fair-haired Lloyd could not look like her daughter, and she was replaced by Winona Ryder. Lloyd sued Orion Pictures Corporation and Mermaid Productions. They reached a settlement on July 30, 1991, the second day of trial. Lloyd received $435,000 and 2.5% of the film's net profits.