Originally conceptualized in the early '80s as a joint French-Hungarian animated movie to be directed by avant-garde artist György Kovásznai. Several character designs and storyboards were completed, but the director passed away early during production. The project was then picked up in the 2010s. Over ten young animators created the pilot The Adventures of Candide (2014), which was then developed into a finished series in 2018. Although the social themes, the occasional crass imagery and nudity and the constantly fluctuating art style were all based directly on Kovásznai's own works, and his original production notes were consulted, the series did not use his proposed character designs from the '80s.
The series proved highly controversial with Hungarian media authorities and nearly got banned. Several scenes seen as offensive, subversive or satirical of Christianity and the Hungarian government had to be censored - these included a gag featuring North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un riding a train among giant, empty football stadiums, a reference to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's authoritarian regime, his obsession with building oversized sports stadiums across the country and establishing his personal miniature railway. Public service television stations still refused to air the series even after these scenes had been cut. The series was only screened once on the commercial TV station RTL Klub (one of Hungary's very few media outlets not controlled by the state), far past midnight when very few viewers could tune in, and was given a 16+ rating. The uncensored series then came out on online video demand services.