"Moonwalker" was directed by Jerry Kramer, who had previously co-directed a short film about the making of Jackson's Thriller music video. The "Smooth Criminal" sequence was directed by Colin Chilvers and the "Leave Me Alone" segment by Jim Blashfield. The film was produced by Frank DiLeo and Michael Jackson for Ultimate Productions.
"Moonwalker" was made for a budget of around $22 million and was a huge financial success. It was released just as Jackson completed a world tour and his highly successful album, "Bad" was still popular. In the United States "Moonwalker" went directly to video and was one of the highest selling titles of 1988/89. Critical reception varied, with many pointing out the film's loose plot structure and lack of thematic coherence: complaints that meant little to Jackson's fans for whom the film was intended.
Several songs appear in "Moonwalker" in their entirety, with clips of others played as well. Entire songs include "Man in the Mirror," "Speed Demon," "Bad," "Leave Me Alone," "Smooth Criminal," and Jackson's cover of the Beatles song "Come Together." During a brief biographical recap of Jackson's early life, clips from dozens of songs are played, including Jackson 5 hits like "ABC" and "I Want You Back," as well as Jackson's "Rock With You," "Beat It," "Thriller" and "We Are the World".
"Moonwalker" is notable for its many celebrity cameos, including Joe Pesci, Sylvester Stallone, Tina Turner, and Paul Reubens as his Pee-Wee Herman character. Some musical clips also use images of historical figures, including Mohandas Gandhi, John Lennon and Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Moonwalker" is currently available as a Region 1 DVD. It was released on DVD throughout Europe and Asia, but the initial home video release on VHS remains its only release in North America. Following Jackson's death in June 2009, the value of original VHS copies skyrocketed.
In 1990, a video game version of "Moonwalker" was released by Sega, featuring elements of the film's plot and soundtrack.