Ward Kimball once called the "Bolero" sequence one of the greatest pieces of animation he had ever seen and would recommend it to students learning about the medium.
During the live action scenes surrounding the animated musical sequences, Signor Rossi, the most famous figure created by Bruno Bozzetto, has a cameo appearance.
The uncut original version runs 85 minutes. The version without the live action connector pieces in between the six animation sequences runs 75 minutes.