This was the last television series primarily created by Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989). Tezuka died during its production phase, but his studio and crew completed the production according to his plans.
The anime is based from classic film The Humpbacked Horse (1975) by Ivan Ivanov-Vano. The film in turn is based from Pyotr Ershov's The Little Humpbacked Horse.