Continuity mistake: When Grandpa Joe, Charlie, and Willy Wonka get into the Wonkavator for the first time from Wonka's office, the Wonkavator has a plain hexagonal shape. As it flies over the city, however, it sports an elaborate design complete with an ornate minaret on top.
Factual error: In every version of the story, including the book, in the scene where Augustus Gloop is sucked into the chocolate pipe, there's no pressure below him (it's an open river, with the pipe sticking into it) so the pressure must come from a vacuum at the top of the pipe. Augustus would have had his lungs and innards sucked out until he was thin enough to pass through the pipe. He would not have survived.
Other mistake: During the Oompa Loompas' first number (Augustus Gloop), the lyrics are animated on the screen - but one word doesn't match. The song line is "What are you at getting terribly fat"; the words on-screen read "WHERE are you at."
Revealing mistake: Right before Augustus goes up the pipe, there is a long shot of the pipe. Look very closely. You will see that there is a dummy of Augustus, not the real Augustus.
Revealing mistake: When the Candy Man is singing his song, he tears a long paper strip with candy dots on it. Look closely, some of the children aren't even taking them off to eat them; they're only pretending to eat them.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Wonka shows the tour the Everlasting Gobstopper machine, you can see that the candy is already on the finished belt before he turns it on. In the close up of the candy, there are a lot of extra candy, but after they get passed out, the excess is gone.
Other mistake: When the boat that Willy Wonka and the passengers are riding on is heading for the tunnel through the river of chocolate, two crewmen are cranking the paddle wheel. The wheel is in an opening in the middle of the deck. As the paddle is rotating, moving the boat through the river, the blades are always clean and dry and never have any chocolate on them whatsoever. Also the paddle is rotating the wrong way. It should be rotating clockwise.
Audio problem: When the group is on Wonka's Pop-mobile and covered in the foam, Mike Teevee's mom says her line, "It's even in my shoes." From this point to the end of the shot, her lips don't match what she says and neither do Mike's, but the mom is more noticeable.
Audio problem: When the crowd is mobbing Charlie after he finds the Golden Ticket, the man with grey hair says "Come on Charlie, hold onto it" but his lips don't move.
Continuity mistake: When Wonka introduces the geese that lay the golden eggs, the geese change positions between shots.
Visible crew/equipment: There is a cameraman shooting near the gate of Wonka's factory: he is strategically placed to get up close shots shown in the movie yet he blends in to the crowd to make the movie audience think he is one of the many media technicians filming the event of Wonka opening his factory. Later, when the guests are passing through the gate, the cameraman has disappeared.
Suggested correction: The Cameraman is part of the news crew that was filming the event all around. Not a mistake.
The point being is that the cameramen in the crowd are part of Director Mel Stuart's film crew, getting angles and footage of the crowd for the movie without hiring additional crews to get the same shots.
How do we know that, though? How do we know this wasn't an extra with a non-working prop meant to be one of the crowd cameramen? Seems like a big assumption to make without the director confirming this was a trick of his.
Because of the camera angles and shots of the crowd that could only be achieved from Stuart's film crew, who are posing as news crews at the event, that's how we know.
Continuity mistake: When they are all in the inventing room, and Mike TeeVee is eating the explosive candy, you can see the explosion come out of the machine he is standing next to. In the next scene, when Mrs. TeeVee is leaning over him, he blows out a puff of smoke like it had come from his mouth.
Visible crew/equipment: White microphone equipment is visible in Mr. Beauregarde's shirt pocket throughout the movie. This is particularly noticeable when he tells Wonka not to talk to him about the contract.
Continuity mistake: When Charlie's mom and grandparents are watching the TV, hearing about the end of the Wonka contest, look at the TV. In the first shot, the left panel of the TV housing is missing. In the next immediate shot it is there, and remains for the rest of the scene.
Continuity mistake: When Violet is introducing herself to Willy Wonka, her purse strap is resting beneath her collar. When Mr. Beuregarde pushes her away to introduce himself, the strap has moved above her collar.
Continuity mistake: When Wonka comes out of the factory to greet his guests, we see from a far away shot that he comes to the corner of the red carpet. When the scene cuts to a closer shot, he is coming up on the same corner again.
Continuity mistake: In an overhead shot of Wonka's boat, Charlie faces to the left, but in the closeup Charlie faces to the right.
Continuity mistake: The centermost of the five "Eggdicator" stalls is missing the plastic bowl that drops the egg onto the trap door, as shown in the "good egg/bad egg" shots earlier.
Audio problem: When Charlie and his grandpa are burping to get down after drinking the fizz drink, their mouths don't match up with the times or lengths of their burps. When Charlie gets his feet on the ground he takes a last burp and his mouth doesn't even move.
Revealing mistake: When they show the different components of the 3 course meal gum machine, they show a bee's nest that supposedly generates honey. If you look at the coil of tubing you can see that water is dripping out of it, not honey.
Suggested correction: In the book Charlie ask Mr. Wonka if all the other kids would be all right and he tells him yes they will.
This isn't a valid correction because the point of the mistake is that he wouldn't survive, as shown. At best you're saying Wonka lied to Charlie.
Bishop73