Williamson was going to write the screenplay but he became to ill so the job was done by Gerard Durrell and Cobham, with Cobham working off an extended treatment of Durrell's[6] In August 1976 it was announced that filming had started in the south of England and it was expected it would take 18 months to make.

[8] The music score used in the film, composed by David Fanshawe, was released on a soundtrack album on the Argo label in 1979 (ZSW 613), and included Peter Ustinov's narration.

In 1976 Anthony Phillips, formerly a guitarist with Genesis, and Harry Williamson had recorded a soundtrack to the film with the support of David Cobham, the producer.

Harry had helped to persuade his father to sign the contract, reassuring him that with the music he had composed, the film would be true to the book.

In 1987, Amy International paid for the completion of the work at Strawberry Studios and it was released by PRT records as simply Tarka.