[2] The eight-minute film was politically motivated: "I was inspired to make Neighbours by a stay of almost a year in the People's Republic of China.

In order to make the film palatable for American and European audiences, McLaren was required to remove a scene in which the two men, fighting over the flower, murdered the other's wife and children.

[6] NFB founder John Grierson, who had invited McLaren to the NFB to form its first animation unit, would ultimately disparage Neighbours and McLaren's attempt at political cinema: "I wouldn't trust Norman around the corner as a political thinker.

"[7] The term 'pixilation' was created by Grant Munro to describe stop-motion animation of humans in his work with McLaren on Two Bagatelles, a pair of short pixilation films made prior to Neighbours.

McLaren followed Neighbours with two other films using a similar combination of pixilation, live action, variable speed photography and string puppets.

[8] (*A 2005 press release issued by AMPAS states that Neighbours is "among a group of films that not only competed, but won Academy Awards in what were clearly inappropriate categories".

[11] Neighbours was the influence for the 1992 music video "Rest in Peace" by the American rock band, Extreme.

In the original music video for the song, the neighbors fight over a TV set showing the band performing, instead of a flower.