Few films remain as impactful and as talked about as The Wizard of Oz . This enchanting story continues to inspire generations, even 80 years after its initial release .
To commemorate this incredible milestone, check out these 10+ mistakes that fans didn’t catch the first time around in The Wizard of Oz .
It’s okay to appreciate the beauty of the movie and still point out a few flaws!
1. Dorothy’s hair seems to change length at various points throughout the film.
When Dorothy has her first run-in with the Scarecrow, her pigtails are about shoulder length.
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As the song goes on and by the time it finishes, you can clearly see that they are now well past her shoulders.
2. There’s a square block in the Cowardly Lion’s costume.
While making their ascent up the cliffs, the Tin Man holds on for dear life to Lion’s tail.
Look closely and you’ll see the outline of a large square box forming from inside his costume.
3. How is it that Dorothy’s dress doesn’t get dirty?
At the beginning of the film, we see Dorothy walking along the planks of the pigsty. She then loses her footing and falls in.
But when Dorothy’s hauled out to safety, her dress is completely spotless.
4. The Scarecrow’s understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem is totally wrong.
After he receives his brains from the Wizard, the Scarecrow says:
“The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side.”
Pythagorean Theorem is actually talking about right triangles, not isosceles!
Sadly for the Scarecrow, that piece of paper clearly meant very little.
His statement is just completely false , regardless of the triangle to which he may be referring.
5. Actually, The Sphinx isn’t one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
While singing the song “If I Were King Of The Forest,” the Cowardly Lion asks “What makes the Sphinx the seventh wonder?”
He clearly needs to brush up on his history. The Sphinx isn’t one of the Ancient Wonders of the world. He’s thinking of the Great Pyramid.
6. Is the Tin Man’s heart actually working?
It certainly doesn’t appear to be. When he first receives the heart from the Wizard, the hands read 1:10.
Later on, when Dorothy and the Wizard are attempting to take off in the balloon, the heart still reads the same.
7. Who’s Judy?
When Dorothy first arrives in Munchkin Land, she’s greeted by a number of the city’s inhabitants, one of whom comes right up to her and says “Judy!” instead of “Dorothy!” Actress Judy Garland plays Dorothy in the film.
8. That’s clearly a trap door that allows the Wicked Witch to escape.
After the Wicked Witch proclaims aloud, “I’ll get you, my pretty, and you’re little dog, too!” she disappears into a cloud of smoke — or so we’re made to believe.
Look again and you’ll see a trap door open on the stage.
Another thing to add is that Margaret Hamilton was severely injured while filming this scene.
The elevator mechanism on the trap door broke and an explosion went off while she was still inside.
9. You can see Dorothy laugh after she slaps the Cowardly Lion.
To her credit, she does do an admirable job of staying in character.
Watch closely though and you’ll see how she raises Toto in front of her face in order to hide her smile.
10. The guard at the palace isn’t actually crying.
When Dorothy learns that she won’t be allowed an audience with the Wizard, she breaks down in tears. The guard, sympathetic to her plight, starts sobbing like a baby.
If you look at his face, the tears are actually streaming from his eyebrows.
11. Where did the Tin Man’s ax come from?
In the scene prior, we clearly see that the Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, as well as the Tin Man, are carrying the same spears as the Wicked Witch’s guard.
If that’s the case, how did he manage to pull his ax out of thin air?
12. The Scarecrow’s arm is still on fire.
One of the most iconic scenes in the film is when Dorothy throws water on the Wicked Witch. However, if you look right before she does that, you’ll see that the Scarecrow’s arm is still on fire.
Yet in the next shot, it’s managed to extinguish itself.
13. What happened to Dorothy’s red slippers?
If you look quickly, right after Scarecrow begins throwing apples at the talking trees, you’ll notice something’s missing from Dorothy’s feet.
Her red slippers have somehow become black shoes?
14. “Throw that basket”
You’ll have to pay close attention to see the mistake in this next shot!
When the Wicked Witch tells Nikko “throw that basket in the river and drown him,” his feet are seen resting near her book of spells.
In the next shot, the book of spells is suddenly back to where it originally was!
It’s laying on the right side of the lamp.
It’s a super small detail, but once you notice it, you’ll never be able to stop noticing it.
15. Scarecrow is missing something else.
When Dorothy first meets Scarecrow, he is talking about directions but he isn’t actually moving his mouth.
Maybe it’s because he’s missing a brain? His functions might have gotten messed up.
16. The head of the Wizard of Oz
Everything is projecting on the floor, as you can see from the photo.
But when they first meet him, you’ll notice that his head doesn’t reflect right away! It’s a mistake that most people likely didn’t notice.
17. Are those strings, Pinocchio?
When the Wicked Witch is leaving to go to the Emerald City and takes flight on her broomstick, you’ll notice something interesting as she makes her way around the tower.
The audience can see wires that are holding her up!
18. Dorothy runs into the farm.
At the start of the film, you’ll remember Dorothy running into the farm calling out for Auntie Em.
Uncle Henry is seen taking a chick out of a hat and placing it into an open coop.
However, when the shot changes, you can see that his hand is back in the same position and he’s taking out another chick.
It is definitely a mistake, but one that a lot of people might not have noticed in their viewings of the movie!
19. Dorothy gets refused.
When the doorman initially refuses Dorothy and her band of merry misfits into Emerald City, they obviously protest.
They explain that the Good Witch of the North sent them, and Dorothy shows her slippers as proof.
Once the camera pans down to the slippers, if you take a look at the yellow brick road, you’ll notice something interesting!
The road is completely flat!
It looks as though whatever they were standing on is just painted, and definitely doesn’t look like a road.
20. Slipping off the pole.
When Dorothy makes the Scarecrow slip off the pole, you’ll notice that his stuffing falls out.
He says to her once it happens, “I just keep picking it up and putting it back in again.”
However, this creates a plot hole. If he was always on the pole, why would it fall out to begin with?
And even if it DID fall out somehow, how would he be able to pick it up again if he is stuck on the pole?
Quite the riddle, isn’t it?
21. Hunk the farmhand.
At the farm, Hunk, who is the farmhand, scolds Dorothy, and as she starts to leave he accidentally hammers right on his hand!
He takes off his glove to, understandably, shout and turns in pain.
However, following that, the angle changes to a wide angle and all of a sudden his hand doesn’t seem to be injured.
In fact, he’s working very calmly and his gloves are back on!
22. Dorothy and the oil can.
When she grabs the oil can that is sitting next to the Tin Man, the leaves he is holding (originally in his left hand) change position between shots.
A log also appears and disappears in the same scene.
23. Munchkinland
In Munchkinland, the Wicked Witch tries to grab the ruby slippers (and thankfully, fails).
If you notice the curtains in the window, you can see that they actually change position between shots.
Did you notice any other mistakes in your viewings of *The Wizard of Oz*?
Or are you not the kind of person to watch a movie looking for mistakes?
Either way, let us know down below in the comments! We would love to hear from you!
