What? The Lion King is a flawless film. How dare you try to disrespect me and this masterpiece by trying to get me to write this article.
I won’t do it! I won’t, I say!
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Fine, I’ll do it.
As much as it pains me to do this, I have to point out some moments in The Lion King where they messed up.
I’m sorry, Lion King . But I have to do this.
1: The Scars.
So in the elephant graveyard, young Simba claws Shenzi in the face and we see three fresh scratch marks on it.
Moments later, the scratch marks have mysteriously disappeared. What is she, Wolverine?
2: Older Simba’s Eyes.
Throughout the movie, the whites of Simba’s eyes will change from white to yellow.
In the scene where he talks to Mufasa in the clouds, they change at least three times.
3: Disappearing Simba.
During the scene where Simba is dying in the desert, Timon and Pumbaa ride through the group of vultures surrounding him.
They actually ride right over where he should be, but he’s nowhere to be found.
Two seconds later, there he is.
4: Rafiki’s Paint.
In the scene where Rafiki is putting the picture of Simba on the tree trunk, the paint comes out a different color than it actually is.
Man, that monkey is more magic than I thought.
5: Timon Sleeping.
During one scene, Timon is sleeping on Pumbaa’s belly.
When Nala approaches them a couple of moments later, Timon’s arms are crossed in a different way. Careless! Simply careless!
6: Inconsistent Reflection.
During “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” when they’re drinking water, Simba’s reflection looks a little weird.
For starters, the rocks in the reflection seem closer than they are in real life.
7: Long Neck.
When Simba and Nala are forced to take “baths” at one point Nala’s head was animated but not her bod.
So when she stretches her neck to lean into Simba she’s seemingly doing it over a couple of feet.
8: Nala’s Eyes.
Apparently, they had a hard time with eyes while they animated The Lion King , but this time it’s not the whites of her eyes.
Her pupils change from blue to green a whole bunch.
9: Audio Mess Up.
During the scene where Sarabi lets Simba and Nala go to the watering hole, Simba says “Yeah!” and Nala says “All right!”.
However, it’s animated so that both of them look like they’re saying “Yeah!”
10: No reflections.
During “I just can’t wait to be king” Nala and Simba are exchanging lines on either side of Zazu.
A pretty cool scene, until you realize they have no reflections in the pool of water beneath them.
11: Rafiki’s Tail.
So Rafiki is supposed to be a Mandrill, right? And he looks like one, too.
He’s got the face, the mutton chops, the skinny body, the tail… woah, lemme stop you right there bud. Because Mandrills don’t have tails.
12: Purring.
When the adult versions of Simba and Nala meet, they rub heads and begin to purr.
While lions can in fact purr, it’s only when they exhale and Simba and Nala were inhaling and exhaling.
13: Small Rocks.
When Nala and Simba fall through the dead elephant, there are a bunch of small rocks next to them.
In the next scene, the small rocks have completely disappeared.
14: Claw Marks.
Eyes and claw marks, these were the biggest troubles for Disney animators. During the stampede, Simba jumps on a branch and leaves claw marks as he hangs on.
They’re gone the next time we see him.
15: Timon’s Lei.
In quite possibly the best scene ever in the movie, there is a tiny flaw right from the hop. Right before Timon starts his hula dance routine, his back is facing the shot without any accessories.
When he turns around, suddenly his lei and flower accessory appear.
16: Sitting To Standing Real Quick.
In the scene right before Simba witnesses his father’s death (RIP), Scar takes Simba to a tree in the gorge and Simba sits right away, listening to his evil uncle.
However, not even a second later in the cut to the next frame, Scar is sitting and Simba is standing.
17: No Monkeying Around.
In the song “Can’t Wait to be King,” the monkeys who throw Zazu around are hanging by their tails.
But there is one problem: monkeys that hang by their tails are found in Central and South America!
18: Simba’s Pads.
During the “Hakuna-Matata” scene, there is an error in the animation.
The pads on Simba’s right paw actually hang over his paw.
19: Banzai’s Claw Marks.
In one of the scenes with the three hyenas, Banzai has three claw marks by his behind. But when he wrestles Ed, they magically disappear.
Nothing like a good fight to heal your wounds?
20: Simba’s Pouncing Lessons.
During Simba’s pouncing lessons with Mufasa, Simba pounces Zazu from the back. However, in the next couple frames, Simba’s paws are on Zazu’s chest.
Poor Zazu!
21: Timon’s Shadow.
In the scene where Timon and Pumbaa find Simba, Timon climbs back on Pumbaa in fear.
But you can’t see his shadow in the next frame — you can only see Pumbaa’s!
22: Rafiki’s Painted Thumb.
When Rafiki realizes Simba is alive, he dips his fingers into the paint to add to the tree’s painting of Simba.
In the next frame, his thumb is painted red, too.
