Factual error: When Steve Martin dies with the mask on, the inflation bulbs (the little black bags that inflate and deflate) deflate completely. Actually they should INFLATE completely and stay that way. The gas is still on full blast and Steve is no longer inhaling (which would cause them to deflate). It was done only to emphasize Steve Martin's demise but it's factually incorrect.
Factual error: During the press conference, the president says that at 5:00 AM the Baldwin residence was bombed. However, the Baldwins were sunning themselves. And, if the president was referring to Eastern time, it would have been 2:00 AM in Hollywood (sign in the background). (00:26:35 - 00:27:45)
Factual error: The von Trapps are shown walking over the border to Switzerland after a short drive out of the centre of town...except Salzburg is about 200km east of Switzerland. If one walked across the border at Salzburg, you'd be entering Germany, which is where (I believe) the people they were trying to get away from lived. Take a look at a map.
Suggested correction: Even though the von Trapps were 200km from the Swiss border, in the last 5 mins, they received a car from the sisters at the convent and the sisters disabled the cars of their pursuers.
Captain Von Trapp was clear, when they were about to hide, that they would drive into the mountains in Salzburg (which the movie did a close up on to show it was those mountains specifically) and walk over them on foot confirming the movie is pretending those are mountains into Switzerland. The director himself admitted this when the real Maria Von Trapp complained of this error. He said "In Hollywood you can make up your own geography."
Factual error: In the scene where Javert commits suicide, you can see the back side of Notre Dame in the background. However the river Seine does not flow in the direction as shown in the following scenes. The river Seine flows from the east to the west in Paris, not the other way round.
Factual error: During The "What A Day In London" sequence, William Shakespeare is seen reading his line "to be or not to be" from his play Hamlet. Pocahontas did sail to London in 1616, but Shakespeare died on April 23rd 1616, when Pocahontas arrived on June 12th 1616.
Factual error: Dorothy tells Miss One that she lives at "433 Prospect Place." Dorothy is supposed to live in Harlem. Any New Yorker knows that there is no Prospect Place in Harlem. In reality, Prospect Place is in Brooklyn and is, in fact, where the street scenes for "Harlem" were filmed.
Factual error: After Zidler tells Satine that she is dying, he is seen walking up a stairway past some sewing women. In an overview of the stairs, a stage light to the left has about a dozen or so frosted light bulbs in it. Frosted, tungsten light bulbs were not invented until the mid-to-late 1920s. Any electric light in 1900 would have had clear, carbon-filament bulbs. And no, those are not glass shades over the bulbs.
Factual error: In the scene where the fireflies light the fireworks there is one problem: The chemical that creates light wouldn't ignite the wick on a firework.
Factual error: During the plague when the fire and rocks are falling from the sky, they fall behind a statue of Rameses and are seen through its hollow eye holes. It makes for a great image, but that would mean that the statue's eyes were punched out like a mask, even though before they were just carved into the stone.
Factual error: One of Angel's lyrics (in "Today For You, Tomorrow For Me) refers to the movie "Thelma and Louise." Rent (the movie) is set in 1989-90. "Thelma and Louise" was released in 1991. This was caused when they did the move from Broadway to the screen. The stage show did not specify the year. So when they adapted the stage show to the movie, they didn't check the references. Plus it just sounds cool. (00:28:25)
Factual error: When you first see Sam he is supposed to be in America, but when you see out of the window as he is leaving, you can see the Gherkin building in London. He is actually in the Lloyd's Building, but to add to the illusion of being in America, he is picked up by a Yellow Cab.
Factual error: The movie is set in 1962, but when Tracy misses her bus, she catches a ride on an International-Harvester truck that wasn't introduced until 1969.
Factual error: In the Ascot racing scene, the actors' heads move from their left to right when the horses come to the winning line. From the stands at Ascot, the horses run clockwise around the track and would enter from right to left.
Factual error: At the end of the 'Goodbye' the men all board a train which leaves along a track on a seaside pier. The shot changes from this stylised vision to a shot of an Edwardian Lady alone on a railway platform. In the background is a 1970s, ie. modern, diesel train.
Factual error: After Berry and one of the Country Bears get in the bus to find the others, they show a scene with the bus going along a road and Berry leans out the window. Here you can see the side of the bus is spick 'n' span clean. Then, later, the bus is as dirty as it was when it left the shack, very noticeable at the start of the carwash scene.
Factual error: When Mufasa is showing Simba the kingdom from Pride Rock they are facing the sun, yet Pride Rock's shadow is visible below them. Also in the same position, you see that they have shadows behind them. Then a few seconds later when Simba sees the shadow area the shadows are in front of them while you can see part of the sun to their left side. They would be facing south when the sun is east. How are their shadows in front of them?
Factual error: At the end of the film, when Ursula has Triton's powers, she creates an enormous whirlpool that pulls wrecked ships off the ocean's floor. Prince Eric boards one of the ships that is being swept along with the whirlpool's currents, then turns the rudder hard to steer the ship into Ursula. Not possible - in order for the rudder to change the course of a ship the vessel must be moving faster than the current.
Factual error: During the song where Mowgli and Balo are dancing together with other animals, there are several hippopotamus also dancing. This is impossible, as hippopotamus are native to Africa, and the movie is set in India.
Factual error: When they show the Nelson Eddy song 'I Love You', the set/movie shown is Rose-Marie. But that number is from Rosalie not Rose-Marie. Two totally different movies - one set in West Point not with the Canadian Mounties. There are no Cole Porter songs in Rose-Marie, likewise there are no Mounties in Rosalie. Rose-Marie's music was by Harbach / Hammerstein II / Friml / Stothart. (01:09:25)
Factual error: While travelling up the east coast from FL to ME they show a Santa Fe passenger train, which only runs out west.