Revealing mistake: When Harry is looking at the photo album Hagrid gave him in his bedroom, there is a clear reflection of the photos in the lenses of his glasses. A moment later in that scene, there is no reflection seen in the lenses, because there are no actual lenses in the frames. (00:01:00)
Revealing mistake: In Harry's bedroom, when Harry and Dobby grapple with the lamp, just as Harry says, "Give me the lamp!" Dobby's left hand is between both of Harry's hands gripping the lamp stem, but in the reflection we do not see Dobby's hand, or arm, as he moves about on the desk, nor do we see the fingers of his right hand which grips the base. In this shot what we do see in the reflection are Harry, his hands, the lamp base, stem, shade and cord. No Dobby. (00:05:30)
Revealing mistake: When Harry stands at his bedroom window looking at the nearing headlights, the houses opposite him on the left are really the neighboring houses that are seen to the left of the Dursleys when facing the Dursley house and the one on the right is actually the Dursley's home. In the close-up of the car as its headlights face Harry, the Dursley's house is seen behind it, but the check curtains and patio table were added to change the look of the house. The distinctive pattern of each of the home's bricks are a giveaway. (00:08:30)
Revealing mistake: When the bars on Harry's window are being ripped off, most of the window frame comes off as well. In the close-up. the attached hook pulls the bottom of bars and window outward, causing them to fall a certain way. Yet in the next shot looking up, the way in which the bars and window fall is strikingly different, not to mention unrealistic if it was really being yanked out via the hook at the bottom. (00:09:25)
Revealing mistake: The Ford Anglia's front seats keep changing. When Ron, Fred and George are rescuing Harry from the Dursleys, the front passenger seat has a curved thin back and is very dark blue with light blue trim at each side. However some examples when it differs are, as Harry hangs from the car while flying over Hogwarts Express, though the seat has a curved back, in some shots the seat is two shades of light blue and in others it is as in the shots at the Dursleys. Yet at Hogwarts, when the car ejects Hedwig, the back of the seat is thick and perfectly sraight and so on. (00:09:35 - 00:25:05)
Revealing mistake: Mrs. Weasley might as well knit like a muggle because she's not making any progress with magical knitting. In the Weasley's home and we see the magic knitting, the needle shoves into the hole, but no thread loops around and it is not advancing. The amount that has already been knitted is magic indeed since all the motion shown in the film produces no results. (00:11:25)
Revealing mistake: When Harry takes floo powder, in the wide shot Mrs. Weasley grips the pot with her right hand outstretched, her thumb at the top and the other fingers below, but in the next close-up of the pot, the pot is held by both of her hands around the pot. In the close-up of Mrs. Weasley holding the pot, the hands are not Julie Walters' (Mrs. Weasley) hands. (00:14:45)
Revealing mistake: When Harry and the Weasleys are standing on Platform 10, it is Ginny's turn to go, in this shot Ron's trunk is clearly visible, note the stains, the latch hardware on the right long side, the corner hardware at the four corners, etc. After Mr. and Mrs. Weasley go, Harry says, "Let's go!" and as they begin to run, Ron's trunk is clearly seen again and it is NOT the same trunk, note the stains, the lack of hardware at the right, no hardware at the four corners, etc, plus the small parcels near Scabbers are different too. (00:22:30)
Revealing mistake: When Harry and Ron run at the wall to get to Platform 9 3/4 if you watch Hedwig's cage when they tumble over you can see a toy bird that is glued onto the perch. (00:22:50)
Revealing mistake: During the car flight (on the way to Hogwarts) Harry and Ron have gone out of control outside Hogwarts. During the scene when the car is approaching the whomping willow the car is massively out of proportion compared to when the car is in the tree. (00:25:25)
Revealing mistake: When Harry and Ron finally get to Hogwarts, they are flying over a lake. The lake reflects Hogwarts, but not the car, which is closer, and directly over it. (00:26:00)
Revealing mistake: While in the Whomping Willow, there is a shot from the interior of the car showing the windshield receiving two large cracks. In the next exterior shot, as the camera pans out while the boys scream, the blue hood of car is seen (with the lack of wiper blades) and the windshield has NO damage whatsoever, as well as when the tree limb comes through the back window, in the two front shots the blue hood is seen and the windshield is intact again. (00:27:15)
Revealing mistake: When the limb of the Whomping Willow crashes through the back window of the car, the hole changes shape in certain shots. In the first interior shot, as the branch goes through, the hole that is made is completely different than in the next exterior shot, as the tree branch leaves. (no pun intended) (00:27:20)
Revealing mistake: Harry and Ron's trunks are being thrown out of the car and in the shot just before Harry's close-up, Ron's trunk (the other trunk says HP) slams down on the grass. The top of this trunk has a large perfectly symmetrical hole in the center with four round marks around it, which was probably involved in the throwing somehow. In the wide shot as Hedwig is being tossed out, the trunks are clearly visible and there is no hole in either, nor is there a hole in Ron's trunk at any other time. (00:28:10)
Revealing mistake: As Errol swoops down, there are various angles that he's seen flying over students for the drama, however the last ones are very different. First, an overhead wide shot of the dining hall. Second, heading towards the camera, as Fred and George sit on the left. Third, an overhead of the Gryffindor table. The next two differ completely. First a long pan as Errol flies between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, way past Fred, George and Ron's stand-in, who sit in front of the fireplace, causing some students at Gryffindor table to lean FORWARD, so Errol doesn't hit their backs as he goes off screen to the left. Next shot, Errol flies toward the camera passing Fred, George and the rest, who dramatically lean BACKWARD in this shot, as Errol flies over their table between them. (00:33:45)
Revealing mistake: In the scene where Ron's owl flies over the students, you see that Errol's wings are perfect. However, in the next shot you see all the feathers ruffled (since Errol smashed into so many things). Then they use a dummy owl to ensure safety of the owl. The owl that's lying down is obviously a dummy, too. Then it turns back to the real bird so it can fly away. Mind you, it nearly hits Hermione in the head. (00:34:00)
Revealing mistake: When Lockhart says, "I must ask you not to scream. It might..," as he says, "Provoke them," the first shot is a close-up of Lockhart as he begins to remove the cloth. Next is a close-up of the cage as Lockhart reveals the pixies. Lockhart's face is clearly visible and it is not Kenneth Branagh who is mouthing the words, "Provoke them," that were already heard in the previous shot. (00:36:10)
Revealing mistake: In the scene where the students are in Professor Lockhart's Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson you see that when Professor Lockhart lets out the Cornish Pixies, two of the pixies pull Neville Longbottom up by his ears and hang him on a chandelier. Because the pixies were computer-animated, they had to put clips behind Neville Longbottom's ears to make it look like he was being lifted up by the pixies. When he was dropped onto the chandelier by the pixies, you see his ears are still in a stretched position where the clips are. (00:37:00)
Revealing mistake: When Ron is on all fours beginning to cough up slugs, Harry says "Let's take him to Hagrid's". Hermione mouths the lines with him. (00:39:43)
Suggested correction: No, she isn't.
Revealing mistake: In Hagrid's hut, while Ron is still slug sick, Hagrid is comforting Hermione over Draco's mudblood comment. His beard is visibly detached below his lower lip and when he speaks his jaw moves while his beard does not. (00:41:15)
