Trivia / Escape from the Planet of the Apes

• Actor-Inspired Element; Zira's line about hating bananas comes from Kim Hunter's own dislike of the fruit.
• Creator Backlash: In a 2010 interview with the Archive of American Television, Eric Braeden admitted that he did not really like the role of Dr. Otto Hasslein as he considered him to be a caricature (though it seemed the comics released four years prior to his interview tried to remedy this issue by adding some more depth to Hasslein's motive by making him The Atoner, due to him realizing the time traveling and the Bad Future being his fault, and make him come across as more justified and sympathetic than how the film ultimately portrayed him. Even though Eric's personal deprecated opinion about him would remain unchanged in the following interview and it's currently unknown if Eric is aware or not or even cares in regards to Hasslein's depiction in the recent comics). Nevertheless, he added that he had a good time making the film as he enjoyed working with Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Don Taylor, whom he described as a very good director.
• The Original Darrin: Roddy McDowall returned to the role of Cornelius, after being replaced by David Watson in Beneath.
• Reality Subtext: While trying to find Cornelius and Zira:
  Hasslein: (crossing out every possible locations) Negative, negative, negative!
  Soldier: Don't worry, we'll catch them sooner or later.
  Hasslein: That's what I'm worried about: later. Later, we'll do something about pollution. Later, we'll do something about the population explosion. Later, we'll do something about the nuclear war! We think we've got all the time in the world!! How much time has the world got?!! Somebody has to begin to care!
• Science Marches On: "Grape Juice Plus" (wine) was said to be an excellent restorative, especially in the case of pregnancy. When the movie was made the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy weren't widely understood. ^note  Fetal Alcohol Syndrome wasn't recognised until two years after this movie was made. While it is generally agreed that some alcohol consumption during pregnancy isn't harmful, for safety the US Surgeon General recommended abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy in 1981 (ten years after this film was made).
• What Could Have Been: Arthur Jacobs wanted to cast Henry Fonda as the President. Don Taylor disagreed, thinking he was too big a star.