Factual error: The movie is supposed to take place in and around New York City. However, during the car chase where Angelina and Brad are fighting off the three BMWs, a wide shot shows a street sign announcing Los Angeles.
Factual error: In the scene in the glass elevator, when Mike Teavee wants to push a button, he presses the TV Room button. The elevator stops going down and immediately moves horizontally. The characters within the elevator are thrown against the wall from the sudden change. However, they are thrown against the wall that is in the direction the elevator is now moving, instead of the opposite wall as they should have been. (01:20:15)
Factual error: Shane is a lieutenant and the Principal is Petty Officer first class. Shane states the Principal is the senior officer. This is wrong as the Petty Officer is a Non Commissioned Officer, while Shane is a commissioned officer. Shane outranks the Principal.
Factual error: When Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney 1st arrive in London Debra goes to a pub to change her outfit, the shot showing the outside of the pub you can see an American style traffic lights eg walk, don't walk which are nothing like the English green man red man traffic lights.
Factual error: In the penitentiary, the guards should be wearing a United States flag patch since it is a federal penitentiary, not the Texas flag patch. (00:08:45)
Suggested correction: Paul Crewe was arrested by local police and not charged with a Federal crime, therefore he would have been incarcerated in a State Prison, not a Federal Penitentiary.
But the prison is named Allenville Federal Penitentiary so they should be wearing American flag patches and not state patches.
If he was arrested in California by local cops, why would he be incarcerated in a Texas State Prison and not a California State Prison?
He was arrested by locals but under Federal probation for shaving points. He went to Federal prison for probation violation.
He violated his federal probation. He would have been initially charged by the local district attorney, but the feds would also charge him due to the probation violation, and the local charges would be dropped.
Factual error: When the results list is posted at the regional competition. "Wooster, MA" is printed next to Zoey Bloch and Avril Dishaw. The correct spelling of the city is Worcester. Wooster is in Ohio.
Factual error: At a stop on the Niger River, before they arrived in Mali, Dirk tells Dr. Rojas of "the angel wing clam" and calls them "Petricola Pholadiformis" and says that "this river is the only place on the earth they are found." Three problems: First, Petricola Pholadiformis are actually called "False angel wing" and are found many places in the world in fresh water (but seldom in the Niger River). Second, what's known as the "Angel wing" shell (no "false" in its name) has "Cyrtopleura Costata" as its scientific name. Cyrtopleura Costata ("Angel wing") is found in salt water. Third, Dirk also said they "glow in the dark"; some varieties of Cyrtopleura Costata shells will glow if exposed to ultraviolet light but none glow from their own internal source. Petricola Pholadiformis shells don't glow at all.
Factual error: The frozen treats used at certain points in this movie are labeled with nutrition labels found in the U.S. today. The labels looked extremely different in the 70's.
Factual error: In the opening day clips, they show 49, Tim Wakefield, starting. The starting pitcher that day was 38 Curt Schilling (Wakefield never played that day). Furthermore, the clips show them playing against the Texas Rangers; opening day 2004 was against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Suggested correction: Not Curt Schilling, Bronson Arroyo started the home opener against Toronto in 2004.
Factual error: In the sequence where the animals get on the first subway, it says they are on the 59th St subway. But, there is no 59th St subway in NY. The only subway station close to 59 is the 57th St subway.
Suggested correction: While the other correction lists a 59th street, that's in Brooklyn. There is one in Manhattan though, 59th - Columbus Circle, which is also the south-west corner of Central Park.
Suggested correction: There is definitely a 59th street subway station: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/59th_Street_ (BMT_Fourth_Avenue_Line).
Factual error: During one of the many driving scenes we see many cars on the side streets. At one point you can see a Mercedes-Benz ML SUV parked on a corner. This model SUV was not made until 2000-2001. Since the movie is set in the mid 80's this is impossible.
Factual error: Near the end of the movie a fire accidentally starts in the center of the ballroom. It activates a fire sprinkler but every other sprinkler also activates. Fire sprinklers are activated by heat so only the one(s) nearest the fire would have activated.
Factual error: Soccer officials are supposed to wear a color that is different than the teams he is officiating. The ref wears a blue shirt when officiating the tigers (who are blue) and then a black shirt when officiating the Gladiators (who are in black). The referee would have worn either his primary yellow for these or red, but never blue or black.
Factual error: At what is supposed to be the Portland, Oregon station, the train cars and conductor's hat are prominently labeled for a Canadian railroad. Passenger trains from Canada do not travel as far south as Portland.
Factual error: When Cal and Dave are playing videogames and coming up with different ways to tell whether or not they're each gay, Cal is using a Nintendo 64 controller. The version of Mortal Kombat that they're playing could only be for Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube, or Xbox.
Factual error: When Dick robs the store, a sign on the cash register reads "You must be born after this date in 1983 to buy beer." Since the legal drinking age is 21, that would mean the movie is set in 2004. However, the film states that the year is 2000.
Factual error: The French Cuirassiers are all carrying lances. Cuirassiers did not carry lances - their primary weapon was the sword.
Factual error: Matt marches on the field with the triangle, however the triangle is part of the pit, and therefore wouldn't have been part of the field show.
Factual error: After Nick Naylor visits "The Captain" in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he is being driven to the airport to fly back to Washington. In one shot, mountains are visible in the background. However, they are brown and barren, like mountains in Southern California, which is probably where that scene was shot. How come many movie and television directors don't seem to understand that mountains in the Eastern U.S. look different from mountains in the West?
Factual error: On Day 3, look at The Embrey Star newspaper when it zooms into the headline. Above the headline is the newspaper's web address, hardly appropriate given the paper is from 1980.