The Lion King

Continuity mistake: When the three hyenas (Ed, Shenzi and Banzai) have Simba and Nala trapped in a dark corner of the elephant graveyard, Mufasa suddenly jumps in to save them. After he wrangles the hyenas to the ground, look at how Mufasa's left paw is placed right beside Ed's ear. But in the next shot where they're begging for mercy, Mufasa's paw is all of a sudden positioned further down by Ed's feet. (00:21:40)

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

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

The Lion King mistake picture

Continuity mistake: In the beginning of Timon's hula dance, he is not wearing his lei; then, right before he turns around, it suddenly appears.

zenee

Continuity mistake: During "Be Prepared", we see legions of Hyenas marching past Scar, casting no shadows at all against the back wall. In the next shot, we see stripes of shadows going past Scar.

Continuity mistake: When Timon and Pumba save Simba, Timon lies on a bit of dry land. Its shape changes between shots.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: As Zazu, Simba and Nala are being confronted by the hyenas, Banzai says, "A trio of trespassers." Zazu's tail is somewhere out of sight at the moment, but between shots it abruptly lifts itself into view. (00:19:20)

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: 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: During the last notes of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", a rhinoceros lands on top of Zazu. At first the rhino's front hooves are resting at its side. But in the following shot where the other animals retreat, they're suddenly planted firmly on the ground. (00:17:20)

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 the open field where Simba gets scolded by Mufasa, he happens upon a large paw print in the dirt. An overhead view reveals several blades of grass near the impression (on the lower left hand side in particular), but as Simba begins walking once again in the following shot, no blades of grass can be seen anywhere in the vicinity. (00:23:20)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: During "Hakuna Matata," Timon hoists Pumbaa high into the air from a vine. The excess length of vine gathers up on the ground at Timon's side - only to vanish just two shots later at the point where Simba sings his piece. (00:45:25)

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: When Zazu is flying overhead leading Simba and Nala to the water hole, he swoops down and begins talking about their future as a married pair. Initially Zazu's tail is resting near the ground. But from one frame to the next, it's suddenly perched straight up in the air. (00:14:15)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: During Pumbaa's flashback scene in "Hakuna Matata" he pauses at the waterhole's shoreline for a drink. At first he's standing on dry ground, but then all of a sudden his front paws are submerged in water one shot later. (00:45:00)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Simba tries convincing Scar that Mufasa's death was an accident, Simba stands an inch or two apart from Mufasa's left paw. Once the angle changes, Scar reaches out to comfort Simba, but now Simba is positioned closer to Mufasa's face instead. (00:37:55)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: After Simba first hears about the elephant graveyard, he eagerly runs over to tell Nala about it. Sarabi, resting in the shade at the bottom of the hill, spontaneously appears out of nowhere on the rock. (00:13:05)

ryguy_1983

The Lion King mistake picture Video

Deliberate mistake: At the elephant graveyard, little Simba claws Shenzi in the face. When Mufasa saves Simba from the hyenas, the cuts are gone, a few seconds later. [This was done intentionally, I'm sure, for two reasons. The first being, Disney doesn't let fresh scars linger on the screen too long. Secondly, during that same scene when Mufasa rescues Simba & Nala, he claws Banzai in the rear. To stress the point later in the movie, that severe scar is shown too, but only briefly, it too disappears because of reason 1. Still a "mistake", but there's why.] (00:21:50)

More mistakes in The Lion King

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

More quotes from The Lion King

Trivia: In Swahili, 'Simba' means lion, 'Rafiki' means friend, and 'Shenzi' means uncivilized. There are many Swahili references throughout the film, and we can assume it takes place in Tanzania or Kenya, since Mt. Kilimanjaro is shown in several scenes.

More trivia for The Lion King

Question: Two part question. 1)Is Hakuna Matata a real phrase from another language, or is it one of Timon's and Pumba's originals? 2)Pumba says at one point of the movie, "They call me Mr. Pig!" Is this a reference to anything?

Answer: (1) It's a real phrase from the Swahili language and, as stated in the film, translates roughly to "no worries" (literally "there are no worries"). (2) The line is a reference to Sidney Poitier's detective character Virgil Tibbs from In The Heat Of The Night and his famous reply of "They call me Mister Tibbs" when asked what they call him back home. The film's sequel, focusing on Poitier's character, actually used the line as the title.

Tailkinker

More questions & answers from The Lion King

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