The Lion King

Continuity mistake: At one point during "Hakuna Matata" Timon raises Pumbaa high into the air with a vine. As Simba watches from below, the sun casts a long shadow behind him. In the following shot, however, a shadow appears beneath him - as if the sun were located directly above. (00:45:30)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When walking through the jungle to find some grub with Simba and Timon during "Hakuna Matata", Pumbaa belches and says "I'm starved." But between shots, he disappears from Simba's left side. (00:46:00)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: In one shot during "Hakuna Matata" Timon bites through half of a red and black bug, calling it piquant and pleasantly crunchy. He holds the other half in his left hand, and at first one of its hind legs is noticeably intact. But this hind leg suddenly vanishes as Timon is enjoying the flavor (it doesn't visibly fall off for instance - it simply disappears into thin air). (00:46:30)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When Timon collects a leaf full of insects and grub for Simba to enjoy, the leaf casts no shadow on the ground initially. However from the next angle it does. (00:46:45)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: Right after Simba grows into an adult during "Hakuna Matata", Timon walks onto Pumbaa's head and stands directly above his eyes. But once everybody starts singing together in the following shot, Timon has changed position and is now standing behind Pumbaa's black mane instead. (00:47:20)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Pumbaa gets jammed beneath a large tree root while trying to avoid being eaten by Nala, Timon runs over and tries to dislodge him from behind. Before Simba appears out of nowhere to pounce on Nala, notice how there's a large weed growing near the root on Pumbaa's left side. But just several shots later when Timon starts cheering Simba on, the weed vanishes. (00:54:25)

ryguy_1983

The Lion King mistake picture

Continuity mistake: After reuniting with Simba, one of Nala's paws changes its place on the ground between shots. When Simba denies being the king, he begins to walk off screen to the left. Here, Nala stands several feet away from Timon. But by the next shot one of her paws is suddenly inches behind Timon instead. (00:56:40)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When Timon starts singing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?", he and Pumbaa are watching Simba and Nala retreat from behind a moss covered log. But from one shot to the next, Pumbaa switches positions to the log's opposite side. (00:57:55)

ryguy_1983

Factual error: When Simba and Nala meet as adults, they rub heads and begin to purr. Lions can purr, but they only purr when they exhale, and Simba and Nala were purring when inhaling and exhaling, like house cats. (00:58:15)

The Lion King mistake picture

Other mistake: During "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?", Simba's reflection in the water isn't very consistent - the rocks he's standing on are much closer to the water than they appear in the reflection. (00:58:45)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: As Simba walks along a fallen tree by the waterfalls, Nala pleads with him to overthrow Scar and take his place as the rightful king of Pride Rock. But notice how his posture changes dramatically between shots. Right before Simba snaps back at Nala, his head is hung low enough to the ground so that his entire backbone is visible, but then it's suddenly lifted to an alert position in the following shot. (01:01:35)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: As Rafiki leads Simba through the bushes to show that Mufasa is still alive, he sticks out his left hand and brings Simba to a halt. When the shots change, Rafiki can be seen holding his thumb in very different positions. (01:05:15)

ryguy_1983

The Lion King mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Simba creeps up to the water's edge expecting to see Mufasa, a ledge's reflection on his right side disappears between shots, only to get replaced by tall grass. (01:05:45)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When Timon is asleep on Pumbaa's belly, Nala approaches. From one shot to the next, Timon's arms are crossed differently. (01:08:35)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: During Timon's hula dance diversion in front of the starving hyenas, Pumbaa sits on a pile of leaves with an apple at his side. As soon as their act is over, Timon and Pumbaa run away - but notice how the apple and leaves have suddenly vanished. (01:12:10)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Rafiki takes his stick and makes short work of several hyenas, he alternates from using one hand to hold the stick, then two, between shots. (01:16:55)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When Zazu is screaming to be let out from the ribcage prison, his wings are holding onto different ribs between shots. (01:17:10)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: When Shenzi and Banzai have Timon and Zazu cornered, Banzai's left paw jumps from the cave floor to the top of the ribcage prison between frames. (01:17:15)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: During Simba and Scar's showdown near the end, Simba gets smacked to the ground at one point. Upon landing, his right paw comes to rest beside his ear. One shot later, however, Simba's paw can't be seen near the ear where it's supposed to be. (01:19:35)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: After we see a slow motion shot of Scar jumping through the wall of fire towards Simba, watch how Simba's teeth go from clenched to unclenched between shots as he hurls Scar over the cliff's edge. (01:19:40)

ryguy_1983

Timon: What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?

More quotes from The Lion King

Trivia: Disney wanted people to despise Scar, the film's villain, so, during Scar's big song 'Be prepared', they made references to Adolf Hitler. When Scar's army begins to march, they are goose-stepping like Nazi soldiers and have their snouts raised like a Nazi salute (their snouts appear longer here than in any other part of the movie, and pointed to their right). Scar is on a large ledge, which resembles a balcony, much like that used by Hitler - on the side, the rock has a pattern resembling a giant Swastika. And finally, on the ground where the army marches, lines appear. These lines were on the streets of Germany, where the Nazis paraded.

More trivia for The Lion King

Question: We're only told about two males in the pride, Mufasa and Scar. Who was Nala's father? It can't be Mufasa because then she and Simba would either be siblings or half-siblings and they wouldn't have got together. And it can't be Scar because she called him by his name, not Dad, and she and Simba would still have been cousins.

Answer: Lions are not like humans, even though Disney tends to make them that way. It's rare for more than one or two full grown lions to be in a pride. Other males are in "bachelor prides" until they win a pride of their own. It's likely that Scar or Mufasa sired Nala.

Brenda Elzin

Answer: It is possible that Nala is older than Simba and her mother was pregnant when a male, Mufasa, took over and she avoided getting killed. She could be the daughter of the previous male that Mufasa conquered as he opened the Pride Lands for him and his brother. Then, Simba was born a little while after Nala.

More questions & answers from The Lion King

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