Trivia: Originally, the story was very different. The kangaroo appeared only in one scene, but the crew liked it so much, they changed the whole movie.
Trivia: When Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman have their showdown in the lavatory towards the end, Hackman greets him and says that this is a "long overdue pleasure." This is a reference to the fact that this scene is the first scene ever between Hoffman and Hackman, two former classmates at film school, in their substantial screen careers. Despite being in the industry for decades, and being long-time friends, they had never made a movie together.
Trivia: The scene directly before the first victim, "the movie star", is killed she is talking to herself in the mirror. You can see her reflection and the reflection of the window behind her. If you pay close attention you can see that there is a silhouette in the curtains. Eventually the lightning flashes and you can see the face of the little boy in the silhouette looking into the window at her.
Trivia: When Captain Aubrey makes the toast 'To wives and sweethearts - may they never meet' he is following a custom in the Royal Navy called the toast of the day. There was a special toast for every day of the week. This one in particular was usually for Saturdays. There is a minor mistake, however: tradition dictated that the proposer (in this case, the captain) would say the first part 'to wives and sweethearts', to which the most junior officer present would reply 'may they never meet'. Here is the list that seems to be most commonly followed dates from before Trafalgar, courtesy of the Canadian Navy website: Monday - our ships at sea, Tuesday - our men, Wednesday - ourselves, because no one else is likely to both, Thursday - a bloody war or a sickly season (to ensure quicker promotion), Friday - a willing foe and sea room (The two preceding seem to be of historical interest only), Saturday - wives and sweethearts - may they never meet (reply is made by the youngest officer present) Sunday - absent friends.
Trivia: The man in handcuffs being taken from the police station at the end is the real life Phil Kauffman.
Trivia: If you stay a little bit into the credits, there is a nice thank you speech from the person who plays Rocket.
Trivia: When we see the "Walt Disney Pictures" logo at the start of the movie, the "When You Wish Upon A Star" theme is barked by the Dalmatian puppies.
Trivia: Colin Farrell recorded a version of The Clash's "I Fought the Law..." for the film.
Trivia: Ciaran Hinds who plays the role of the husband of Chris, had also starred with Helen Mirren in the award winning series Prime Suspect 3, back in 1993.
Trivia: The ending song scene, during the credits - singing wasn't strange to either of the actors: Zellwegger had a leading role in Chicago, and McGregor in Moulin Rouge, movies where they had several song scenes. In fact, the scene was only added at the insistence of the actors.
Trivia: When Willard's boss is working on his spreadsheet program, just before the rats show up, he is not entering the spreadsheet formula properly. He is entering the actual numbers like 235+345+315 instead of using cell addresses like =A1+B1+C1. Not really a mistake because his character could be an idiot on spreadsheets. Just an interesting observation.
Trivia: The guy who plays 'Mister minister' also played Julia Stiles' dad in 10 Things I Hate About You, which also took place around Seattle. They give each other funny confused looks when she is leaving Jason Lee's apartment in the beginning of the movie.
Trivia: In one scene Julia Roberts takes her students to see a painting by Jackson Pollack. Julia's co-star Marcia Gay Harden won her Academy Award playing Pollack's wife in the movie, "Pollack" opposite Ed Harris, who incidentally played Julia's boyfriend/fiance in "Stepmom". (00:45:20)
Trivia: In the DVD commentary, Tony Martin (director) reveals that all the behind-the-scenes crew had roles as extras in the movie. One dolly grip refused to be in it, but Tony got lucky, as that dolly grip was the one reflected in the security guard's windows during the computer scenes. Instead of digitally taking him out, he left it it thus justifying his rule.
Trivia: When the people are at the Jewish Justice League, it cuts to a shot of a sign saying something like "Israeli Athletes Team." This is a reference to the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, where eleven Israeli Olympic athletes were killed.
Trivia: On the DVD, Veronica Cartwright's name or character is not listed in either the opening or closing credits.
Trivia: The dog is named "Tig" after Kevin Costner's grandmother.