Trivia / Kin-Dza-Dza!

• Executive Meddling: Originally Fiddler was supposed to give the music professor presents from his trip in Abkhazia along with the violin that he forgot because he got drunk. One of the presents was Chacha, Georgian brandy. Right when the film was going to be released Gorbachev started his anti-alcohol campaign and they had to change Chacha to vinegar. Which didn't make sense, since why would anyone send vinegar for a present? Curiously, the subtle reference that the professor got drunk and forgot his violin stayed.
  • It does lead to the Running Joke of people trying to drink the vinegar and spitting it out. Finally an etsilop confiscates it from Fiddler and despite the characters warning him off, drinks the entire thing with no signs of distress.
  • The joke only became more acidic, because during the late Soviet Prohibition, unsurprisingly, drinking liquids previously considered undrinkable became a rather common occurrence.
  • In the animated version Uncle Vova is the music professor.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: "Patsak" is a Sdrawkcab Name invented by authors from a slur of unclear etymology (either "goat" or "butcher"). However, in the 21st century archaeologists unearthed a medieval Russian letter that used a similar-sounding offensive word — "posak". The suggested translation is "lazy townie", although "cheat" and "drunkard" fit the context as well.
• Troubled Production: Between the filming in the desert with no infrastructure to speak of (and this being the 80s Soviet Union, that really is saying something), the railway losing all prepared sets (they were eventually found after filming on the other side of the country) in shipping, which forced the team to cobble them together from scrap in-place,^note Wef's cap is actually the codpiece from the discarded fighter pilot's suit, and the pepelats was just thrown together from scrap iron from the nearest dump welded together by a local plumber the relentless Executive Meddling from the authorities, script changes due to Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign, and half of the film actually being ad-libbed, it's a major miracle that it was just completed, much less becoming the instant cult classic that it is.
• Playing Against Type: Most of roles played by Yevgeny Leonov(Wef) are of Big Fun type, but here he plays a selfish Fat Bastard.
• What Could Have Been: Based on the published script, there was a B-plot about a citizen of Pluck (the angry Chatlanian with the big tranklucator, the same one the Earthlings accidentally released from the etsikh) starting a revolution, overthrowing PJ and becoming the new tyrant of the planet.
  • Originally, Abradox was supposed to be played by Norbert Kuchinke, but in yet another example of authorities meddling with production, Mosfilm banned this decision. Georgy Daneliya tried negotiating with other actors before taking the role himself.
  • Leonid Yarmolnik was supposed to appear in the film as a conman selling stardust, but backed out due to the Troubled Production. This in turn led to the stardust plot being left out, and the movie getting its current name (as Stardust was the original choice).