She encounters a number of eccentric characters: two men playing chess while seated in their suitcases; a small, Asian boy and his sleeping grandfather; and a famous tennis player, whose crass sexual overtures Madame Tutli Putli rejects.

She quickly remembers two train robbers emitting a powerful sleeping gas into the air, then stealing the tennis player's kidneys.

The filmmakers researched the film by traveling on The Canadian, north of Lake Superior, living on the train for two weeks, collecting stories.

Portrait artist Jason Walker created the technique of adding composited human eyes to the stop motion puppets.

[4][5][6] For the lead character, actress Laurie Maher was recorded acting out the motions, but only her eyes and eyebrows were ultimately visible in the final film.