10 Animation Mistakes That Made It into the Movie
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VOICE OVER: Rudolph Strong
WRITTEN BY: Cristina Otero
Oops! You weren't supposed to see that... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the noticeable but relatively minor errors and glitches in animated films that made it into the final cut. Some minor spoilers to come! Our countdown includes moments from movies "Frozen", "Finding Nemo", "Peter Pan" and more!
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the noticeable but relatively minor errors and glitches in animated films that made it into the final cut. Some minor spoilers to come!
The Beat of a Different Drum
“Lilo & Stitch” (2002)
Consistency in animation can be tricky to maintain. This glitch appears near the beginning of the movie, while Lilo is at her hula dance class. When we first get shots of the musicians in the top right hand corner, they’re playing the same instrument: two shakers. However, when Lilo claims that Pudge controls the weather, the two instrumentalists exchange glances—and one of them has a drum, not a shaker. Animation in close-ups are always more detailed than in wide shots, but this is an inconsistency that’s hard to shake off. Either that, or Pudge controls more than the weather.
A Dry Dunking
“How to Train Your Dragon” (2010)
Hiccup’s and Astrid’s ride together on dragon Toothless is a fun and beautiful scene. Unfortunately, the animation is not without its, well, hiccups. When Toothless suddenly dives into the water, dunking his passengers several times, Hiccup and Astrid don’t look wet at all. Sure enough, later on they are as dry as Toothless is. Either the animators had too much confidence in the drying capabilities of wind or this was an overlooked detail on their part. After that, though, Toothless settles down and everything is smooth, er, flying. Thanks for everything, you useful reptile.
Vanellope Loses a Tooth
“Wreck-it Ralph” (2012)
Speaking of first rides, check out Vanellope’s first attempt at go-kart riding, with Wreck-It Ralph as her not-so-expert instructor. Exciting as it is, it isn’t long before she winds up in an accident, crashing into a pole. She loses a tooth in the process…or does she? Even within the same scene, we see Vanellope with all her teeth intact. Sure enough, later scenes in the movie do show her pearly whites intact. Vanellope is a glitch in her own right, but even she can’t make body parts disappear and reappear. Either that, or the tooth glitch has its own secret origins. It’s a theory to sink your teeth into.
Captain Hook’s Sword Comes Back
“Peter Pan” (1953)
Disney’s classic film also has classic animation errors, complete with disappearing and reappearing objects. In this scene, Peter Pan and Captain Hook have a fun sword duel at Skull Rock, complete with flying antics and a hungry crocodile. But as Captain Hook hangs from the cliff, he drops his sword into the water. Regardless, that sword is back in its sheath once that crocodile comes in with the tickling clock. No doubt it’s necessary for Hook to keep his sword for his climactic second duel at the end of the movie. Still, by all accounts, that sword should have joined the ticking clock by now.
Multiplying Barrels
“The Road to El Dorado” (2000)
All right, here’s the plan: Con men and BFFs Tulio and Miguel flee from the authorities, so they must leap inside two barrels full of water. As they look down from the roof, there are two open barrels with no other barrels directly behind them. So why is it that after Tulio and Miguel jump and their barrels get taken into Cortés’ ship to the New World, there are now six barrels in the net and being offloaded? Who ordered the extra barrels and how’d they get there? Are there more accidental smugglers off to adventures into the New World in those barrels? Let’s not give DreamWorks any ideas.
The Lions’ Changing Eye Colors
“The Lion King” (1994)
“Hakuna Matata” means no worries for the rest of our days. So should we just relax and not worry about the lions’ constantly changing eye colors? If we were pressed to describe Simba’s eyes, we’d probably say brown with yellow whites. Or are his whites actual white, and the brown irises more hazel or dark red? It’s a bit confusing. Nala also has eye trouble, with her greenish irises becoming bluer as she ages. Is it a trick of the light? Some scenes are lit darker than others. Regardless, continuity errors have never been so colorful. But no matter—Hakuna Matata.
The Shifting Alligator Poster
“Finding Nemo” (2003)
Not that we pay much attention to a dentist office, for obvious reasons. But was that alligator poster meant to switch positions so often? When we first see it, it’s right beside the window Nigel comes through, with Marvin and Dory in tow. But once the dentist shoves Nigel back out the window, we see that the poster is shifted at least two feet away from the window. And for a brief moment a few seconds later, when the dentist hits his head, it doesn’t seem like it’s there at all! Perhaps it wanted to distance itself from all the fish family drama.
Elsa’s Hair
“Frozen” (2013)
This one song sequence, “Let It Go,” has done many things throughout the years. It single-handedly turned intended villain Elsa good, made songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez rich, and also made Elsa’s shoulder see-through. Wait, what? It’s hard to believe that such an iconic scene could have such an animation error. But as many have pointed out, once Elsa truly lets it go, her liberated braid goes through her shoulder. Elsa’s magical powers are great, but to make her whole shoulder disappear is quite a feat. And hello, bangs! The similarly catchy “Love Is An Open Door” scene also had a snafu, involving Anna’s and Hans’ dreamy shadows dancing…in mid air. Elsa’s definitely not alone in her powers.
Teleporting Mice
“Shrek” (2001)
Here are three blind mice. See how they run…and disappear and reappear at the oddest moments. At Shrek and Fiona’s bop-tastic wedding, the three blind mice are turned into a horse and onion carriage for the newlyweds. But at the reception, these three are back again, dancing on the piano. But that’s not all: Our last shot of the onion carriage shows us that the three mice are back to being three white horses. Their teleporting powers are great indeed. Now we are believers…in the animators missing this crucial continuity error. At least they got to dance.
Cinderella’s Sleeves Disappear
“Cinderella” (1950)
Walt Disney stated that his favorite piece of animation was Cinderella’s beautiful silver dress transformation. But as lovely as the animation of this movie is, it has at least one glaring animation error. At Cinderella’s and her Prince’s wedding, Cinderella’s svelte wedding dress looks almost modern with its sleek, non-puffy sleeves. This silhouette lasts until the very last shot, when Cinderella and her Prince kiss. There, Cinderella’s dress has puffy sleeves, similar to her famous ball dress. No doubt this was a continuity error, but at least it has the grace of doubling as a neat callback.
What other animation glitch made you disappear and reappear in an entirely different position? Let us know in the comments down below!
The Beat of a Different Drum
“Lilo & Stitch” (2002)
Consistency in animation can be tricky to maintain. This glitch appears near the beginning of the movie, while Lilo is at her hula dance class. When we first get shots of the musicians in the top right hand corner, they’re playing the same instrument: two shakers. However, when Lilo claims that Pudge controls the weather, the two instrumentalists exchange glances—and one of them has a drum, not a shaker. Animation in close-ups are always more detailed than in wide shots, but this is an inconsistency that’s hard to shake off. Either that, or Pudge controls more than the weather.
A Dry Dunking
“How to Train Your Dragon” (2010)
Hiccup’s and Astrid’s ride together on dragon Toothless is a fun and beautiful scene. Unfortunately, the animation is not without its, well, hiccups. When Toothless suddenly dives into the water, dunking his passengers several times, Hiccup and Astrid don’t look wet at all. Sure enough, later on they are as dry as Toothless is. Either the animators had too much confidence in the drying capabilities of wind or this was an overlooked detail on their part. After that, though, Toothless settles down and everything is smooth, er, flying. Thanks for everything, you useful reptile.
Vanellope Loses a Tooth
“Wreck-it Ralph” (2012)
Speaking of first rides, check out Vanellope’s first attempt at go-kart riding, with Wreck-It Ralph as her not-so-expert instructor. Exciting as it is, it isn’t long before she winds up in an accident, crashing into a pole. She loses a tooth in the process…or does she? Even within the same scene, we see Vanellope with all her teeth intact. Sure enough, later scenes in the movie do show her pearly whites intact. Vanellope is a glitch in her own right, but even she can’t make body parts disappear and reappear. Either that, or the tooth glitch has its own secret origins. It’s a theory to sink your teeth into.
Captain Hook’s Sword Comes Back
“Peter Pan” (1953)
Disney’s classic film also has classic animation errors, complete with disappearing and reappearing objects. In this scene, Peter Pan and Captain Hook have a fun sword duel at Skull Rock, complete with flying antics and a hungry crocodile. But as Captain Hook hangs from the cliff, he drops his sword into the water. Regardless, that sword is back in its sheath once that crocodile comes in with the tickling clock. No doubt it’s necessary for Hook to keep his sword for his climactic second duel at the end of the movie. Still, by all accounts, that sword should have joined the ticking clock by now.
Multiplying Barrels
“The Road to El Dorado” (2000)
All right, here’s the plan: Con men and BFFs Tulio and Miguel flee from the authorities, so they must leap inside two barrels full of water. As they look down from the roof, there are two open barrels with no other barrels directly behind them. So why is it that after Tulio and Miguel jump and their barrels get taken into Cortés’ ship to the New World, there are now six barrels in the net and being offloaded? Who ordered the extra barrels and how’d they get there? Are there more accidental smugglers off to adventures into the New World in those barrels? Let’s not give DreamWorks any ideas.
The Lions’ Changing Eye Colors
“The Lion King” (1994)
“Hakuna Matata” means no worries for the rest of our days. So should we just relax and not worry about the lions’ constantly changing eye colors? If we were pressed to describe Simba’s eyes, we’d probably say brown with yellow whites. Or are his whites actual white, and the brown irises more hazel or dark red? It’s a bit confusing. Nala also has eye trouble, with her greenish irises becoming bluer as she ages. Is it a trick of the light? Some scenes are lit darker than others. Regardless, continuity errors have never been so colorful. But no matter—Hakuna Matata.
The Shifting Alligator Poster
“Finding Nemo” (2003)
Not that we pay much attention to a dentist office, for obvious reasons. But was that alligator poster meant to switch positions so often? When we first see it, it’s right beside the window Nigel comes through, with Marvin and Dory in tow. But once the dentist shoves Nigel back out the window, we see that the poster is shifted at least two feet away from the window. And for a brief moment a few seconds later, when the dentist hits his head, it doesn’t seem like it’s there at all! Perhaps it wanted to distance itself from all the fish family drama.
Elsa’s Hair
“Frozen” (2013)
This one song sequence, “Let It Go,” has done many things throughout the years. It single-handedly turned intended villain Elsa good, made songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez rich, and also made Elsa’s shoulder see-through. Wait, what? It’s hard to believe that such an iconic scene could have such an animation error. But as many have pointed out, once Elsa truly lets it go, her liberated braid goes through her shoulder. Elsa’s magical powers are great, but to make her whole shoulder disappear is quite a feat. And hello, bangs! The similarly catchy “Love Is An Open Door” scene also had a snafu, involving Anna’s and Hans’ dreamy shadows dancing…in mid air. Elsa’s definitely not alone in her powers.
Teleporting Mice
“Shrek” (2001)
Here are three blind mice. See how they run…and disappear and reappear at the oddest moments. At Shrek and Fiona’s bop-tastic wedding, the three blind mice are turned into a horse and onion carriage for the newlyweds. But at the reception, these three are back again, dancing on the piano. But that’s not all: Our last shot of the onion carriage shows us that the three mice are back to being three white horses. Their teleporting powers are great indeed. Now we are believers…in the animators missing this crucial continuity error. At least they got to dance.
Cinderella’s Sleeves Disappear
“Cinderella” (1950)
Walt Disney stated that his favorite piece of animation was Cinderella’s beautiful silver dress transformation. But as lovely as the animation of this movie is, it has at least one glaring animation error. At Cinderella’s and her Prince’s wedding, Cinderella’s svelte wedding dress looks almost modern with its sleek, non-puffy sleeves. This silhouette lasts until the very last shot, when Cinderella and her Prince kiss. There, Cinderella’s dress has puffy sleeves, similar to her famous ball dress. No doubt this was a continuity error, but at least it has the grace of doubling as a neat callback.
What other animation glitch made you disappear and reappear in an entirely different position? Let us know in the comments down below!
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