Trivia

Shinkansen wanted to make a movie to promote their bullettrains. They approached Koreeda, an avid trainlover. He came up with this movie.

The film's Japanese title, Kiseki, literally means Miracle.

In a 2013 interview with easternKicks, Hirokazu Koreeda spoke about his casting process for the film: "I usually audition about 1,000 kids or so, so I'd say it is the hardest event. But to enjoy it is important. At the audition, I think of how each kid would become when put together. When we auditioned for the roles of friends of the main characters, the Maeda brothers are so full of life, and especially the older brother Kôki Maeda was too good that a lot of kids could not sparkle in front of him. So I tried to mix and match kids who can vie with them and have the chemistry with them so that they can sparkle themselves. For example, Rento Isobe did not become nervous with Maeda brothers. Many kids became nervous with Maeda brothers because they were already famous as stand-up comedians at that time, but Rento had some thick nerves, and did not care about the brothers at all. So at the end, he was good for the role of a friend."