Apart from a few establishing shots after the animated titles, the whole movie was filmed in France, including all of the English scenes of the first act.
There are at least two allusions to Pierce Brosnan's former role as James Bond. When Jerry (Timothy Spall) offers his gun, Richard (Brosnan) momentarily holds it against his cheek in the iconic 007 pose. Later, when all four heroes are scaling a cliff, the score briefly becomes a fake John Barry action cue.
Another James Bond wink, the martini (shaken not stirred) Richard (Pierce Brosnan) enjoys at the beginning of the movie.
When Richard and Kate are running from the guards, after they've been spotted, the music from the chase is the same the original James Bond 007 score, even though the last time this piece was played in a Bond movie was in the Sir Roger Moore movie, Moonraker (1979). It first appeared in From Russia with Love (1963), under the name "007 Takes the Lektor".
Timothy Spall (Jerry) and Emma Thompson (Kate) appeared in the Harry Potter film franchise.