Factual error: Dallas, Texas is not surrounded by desert mountains. This is a dumb tourist mistake; when that shot of downtown Dallas appeared on the screen audiences there groaned in unison. (00:07:30)
Factual error: During the scene towards the end of the film where Alejandro is chasing Captain Love in the shack with the furnace at the mine, we see a pressure gauge just before the furnace explodes. The unit of measurement on the pressure gauge is shown as kg/cm2. Metric measures were not used in Mexico until eleven years after the film was set, and as California was a part of Mexico at the time, metric measurements would not have been used there.
Factual error: The size of the shadow of an object depends upon its distance from the light source, not the surface it falls upon. Lifting the cutout of the bird a few inches closer to the sun as they do would make absolutely no difference to the size of its shadow, yet it quadruples in size.
Factual error: When the Jupiter 2 blasts off, it does so in the most fuel inefficient way possible - flat surface first. The air resistance would be fifty times less if they'd angled it side on. Plus, when the aerodynamic cover blasts away, the Jupiter 2 itself is revealed - and it is more aerodynamic than the cover. Rocket science must have taken a few steps backward lately... .
Factual error: 6 years in a mask and he's able to keep that lovely babyface with just a little bit of grime, which easily comes off? Of course it would have wrecked the whole story but still...
Factual error: When the aircraft crashes on the island, the front of the aircraft strikes the ground which would have bent the propeller. They would have never been able to fly it again with that prop.
Factual error: The locations mentioned in the film are all over the world, including South Africa and Rotterdam. During the car chase through South Africa, it is very clear that all the locations in this car chase are in Rotterdam. For example, at one point the car drives down stairs through a shopping-mall, this is a well-known landmark in Rotterdam. As a matter of fact it is about 1 kilometer from the bridge used in the finale of the movie.
Factual error: Whilst impressive, the snow covered set of Trafalgar Square is still far too small.
Factual error: Near the end of the song "One Of Us" when Kovu is exiled, the beisa oryx at the front of the animal chorus (the one shaking her head slowly) has incorrect facial markings for her species. The other beisa oryx in the background has the correct markings. When she sings "He is not one of us," solo, she has correct facial markings, but lacks the correct leg markings, which she had when her facial markings were incorrect.
Factual error: When Pellew engages the first French warship, he gives the order to his helmsman, "Hard to Larboard". In the 18th century, helm orders were given in relation to the position of the tiller, rather than the rudder. A helmsman would push a tiller in the opposite direction he wanted the vessel to turn. This practice continued even when a ship was steered by a wheel, so the man at the wheel would have turned the wheel to starboard..except that he didn't.
Factual error: In order to incapacitate the Fimples, the Commandos fire sleeping pills into their drink via a mouse trap converted into a catapult. But in every spring- or torsion-powered one-armed catapult, a horizontal bar is required which stops the arm as it swings forward, or otherwise the load would be smashed into the ground in front of the weapon.
Factual error: When Felix and Oscar are on the plane and Oscar goes to sit next to Felice, the pilot says they will be landing in twenty minutes. This cant be as the police sheriff said the flight would take forty minutes. I don't think Oscar was in the bathroom for twenty minutes or the seatbelt sign wasn't on for twenty minutes either.
Factual error: During the morning training session, Shang shot an arrow to the top of the pole so his soldiers can get it, but the arrow is stuck in a horizontal position. A difficult position to achieve, for someone shooting an arrow from below. Even if the arrow hit the pole at such a point in its arc, its kinetic energy would be at its weakest, preventing it from boring into the pole.
Factual error: When Chris Farley is climbing up the side of the mountain to return the bird egg, you see the bottom of his moccasins and they appear to be made of a ribbed (for traction) material. Back then, they would have been made from animal hides and the bottoms would have been smooth not ribbed.
Factual error: When the Spanish sink the topsail schooner bringing supplies to Gibraltar, Captain Foster swims to a floating fighting top. The schooner actually had nothing more elaborate than a crosstrees on both masts.
Factual error: When New Island's reflection is in a window on Giovanni's helicopter, it is not reversed. (00:15:19)
Factual error: Sunlight during the day and moonlight during the night illuminate the planet even though there is no visible sun or moon. If either were outside the Briar Patch the light would not be able to pass through the gas of the nebula.
Factual error: When the plane takes off, the flight attendants on board are standing doing a safety demonstration. In real life the take off gradient is much steeper meaning they would either be thrown against the floor or at least find it difficult to stand. Also due to FAA regulation it is forbidden for anyone to stand on take off.
Factual error: Even if he was falling hard, Mandible still would've survived hitting the overturned root, as ants do not have much body mass.