The Wizard of Oz

Revealing mistake: In the scene where the tornado is about to hit and Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are going into the cellar, you can see that some of the trees are blowing around violently, and others aren't moving at all. (00:16:05)

Continuity mistake: When Dorothy is holding Toto in the last scene, the dog is facing to the left, but in the very next shot he's suddenly facing to the right.

Krista

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Revealing mistake: As Dorothy is about to walk into the cyclarama (backdrop) as she leaves MunchkinLand, a Munchkin Soldier on the very far right is too far and becomes transparent with the matted-in flowers. (00:33:40)

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Revealing mistake: When they meet the Wizard for the first time, his big projected head doesn't reflect off the shiny floor, like everything else. (01:09:54)

andyo22

Continuity mistake: When Glinda starts to sing, a Munchkin is seen coming out of an open sewer with its lid on the side. When the angle changes, the munchkin is nowhere to be seen and the sewer is closed.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When the cyclone arrives, the farmhands let out the horses, which run wild through the farm. In the immediate wide angle there's no sign of humans or animals anywhere.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Dorothy is in bed saying "there's no place like home", after the angle cuts the position of her pigtails over her dress has changed.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: Miss Gulch rides away on her bike and Toto jumps directly off the back onto the dirt road. There should be tire marks on the dirt where he falls directly behind the bike, but there aren't. (00:10:30)

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Revealing mistake: As the Tin Man busts down the Witch's door with his ax if you look closely you'll see a slight edit in the film right before he takes his last swing. What they did was unlock the door before the last swing so it would open. You can see the dead bolt retracted as the door swings open. (01:23:50)

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Audio problem: When the Scarecrow says "You see, it's very tedious being stuck up here all day long with a pole up your back," his mouth is saying something else. (00:33:50)

Hamster

Deliberate mistake: Before Dorothy is sent to Kansas there's a close-up of her shoes. All of the group's feet, Glinda's dress, and the rest of the elements around are gone and replaced by a black background. Despite being a deliberate directorial decision to give the shoes a more dramatic focus, it is really awkward to see everything disappear, nevertheless.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Hunk hits his hand with the hammer there are two brooms leaning against the barn behind him. In the next shot they're gone. (00:03:45)

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Visible crew/equipment: As the Wicked Witch stands on the balcony with the hour glass a cameraman's shadow can be seen moving across it near the hour glass. (01:24:15)

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Visible crew/equipment: As the Wicked Witch prepares to leave for the Emerald City on her broomstick shadows appear on the painted wall depicting the sky behind her. (00:57:50)

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Continuity mistake: When Toto escapes from the witch's castle and runs off to the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Lion to lead them to rescue Dorothy, he can be heard barking. As he is running up to the three, he is still barking, but his mouth is quite still and his tongue is hanging out. (01:19:30)

Continuity mistake: After the Wicked Witch of the West lights her broomstick and the scarecrow on fire, and Dorothy throws the water on her, in the next shot after the water hits her, you see the broomstick laying next to her burnt out but not smoking. (01:26:20)

Other mistake: In the first shot of the movie we see Dorothy and Toto running home. Several shots later when we first meet Hunk, Zeke and Hickory we see the exact same background spot used again behind them. Dorothy was also running in the wrong direction. (00:03:05)

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Continuity mistake: There's a big mistake when we first see Prof. Marvel's wagon. If you look closely, the entrance steps that can be seen reflecting the light are upside down and would have to be set right before they could walk inside. (00:11:20)

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Wicked Witch: Ohhh... You cursed brat! Look what you've DONE! I'm melting! Melting! Oh... What a world, what a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?!

More quotes from The Wizard of Oz
More trivia for The Wizard of Oz

Question: It is implied strongly in this movie that water makes witches melt, and this is spoofed in other media. I've only ever seen this referenced to wicked witches. Does water make good witches, such as Glinda, melt too?

Answer: In all likelihood, probably not. Water is often depicted and represents purity, and cleansing. It flows smoothly, is beautiful, clear, and responsible for life on Earth. Everything the Wicked Witch is not. Where as the good Witch is pure and of a true heart. So it makes sense that something so evil and impure as the evil witch would be effected by the purest substance there is, yet not harm the good witch because she is good.

Quantom X

Answer: In the original book, water caused the wicked witches to melt away because they were so old and shriveled that all the fluid in their bodies had long since dried away. Meanwhile, the film Oz: The Great and Powerful instead implies that the Wicked Witch of the West is weak against water due to being a fire-elemental witch, which could also be the case for this incarnation, meaning it wouldn't apply to other witches like Glinda (whose element in both films appears to be ice) or even the Wicked Witch of the East (whose powers are never shown in this film, but were electricity-based in Oz the Great and Powerful).

More questions & answers from The Wizard of Oz

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