Continuity mistake: When Mufasa is showing Simba how to pounce, Zazu is facing backwards when Simba pounces on him, but when Simba has Zazu pinned to the ground, his paws are on Zazu's front. Simba would hardly have released Zazu to let him turn round. In the recent release of an Extended-Version DVD, Zazu sings a song called "Morning Report" which was written for the stage show and added to the extended version DVD. Zazu's change in position comes from the material that was cut. Still a mistake, but there's the explanation. (00:11:05)
Revealing mistake: During "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", Zazu stands between some zebras who lift their tails high into the air. But just before the shot changes, watch as Zazu's shadow vanishes prematurely. (00:16:25)
Continuity mistake: When Simba is lying on a rock awaiting Scar's surprise at the base of the gorge, he tries to intimidate a nearby chameleon with his (weak) roar. The shot changes and Simba finally scares it away, but notice how the rock has disappeared. Now all we can see is a blurry background of the gorge's edge. (00:32:10)
Continuity mistake: Before Simba and Nala tumble downhill into the elephant graveyard, Simba pounces on Nala but ends up getting pinned to the ground. At first she has her paws on his chest, but when the shot changes she holds him down by the upper arms instead. (00:17:50)
Continuity mistake: When the three hyenas are chasing Simba and Nala in the elephant graveyard, one of them is standing on top of a bone, then next second the bone is gone.
Continuity mistake: When Mufasa confronts Scar after the ceremony, Scar walks away and Mufasa follows. Zazu has disappeared from his hiding spot behind Mufasa's leg and reappears later. (00:06:20)
Deliberate mistake: When Rafiki comes to the pride rock for Simba's anointing, one minute he is walking through the assembled animals, the next he climbs onto the top of the rock from the front. Physically, even for an ape, it's impossible. It's a deliberate mistake, obviously his arrival would have been much less impressive if he had had to climb the mountain from the side in a slow but realistic way. (00:02:35)
Factual error: When Mufasa is initially showing Simba the pridelands they are facing the rising sun - in other words east. Simba asks about "that shadowy place" which is off to the right, and is told he must never go there. When Simba is later telling Scar about seeing the whole kingdom, Scar says "He didn't tell you what's beyond that rise on the northern border." It's the same place that Mufasa was talking about, as Simba says he's not allowed to go there, but if it was to the right as they faced east it would have been the southern border of the pridelands. (00:12:40)
Continuity mistake: As Zazu is coasting above Simba and Nala on their way to the water hole, Zazu's head immediately changes direction between cuts. At first he's turned left, then down towards the cubs below him. (00:14:00)
Continuity mistake: Timon faces different directions on top of Pumbaa's snout after being asked about keeping Simba. At first he looks at Simba over Pumbaa's snout, but all of a sudden he's turned around and looking right into Pumbaa's eyes between shots. (00:42:00)
Revealing mistake: At one point during "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" when both Simba and Nala are exchanging lines on either side of Zazu, their reflections disappear from the water between shots. (00:15:40)
Continuity mistake: When Simba creeps up to the water's edge expecting to see Mufasa, a ledge's reflection on his right side disappears between shots, only to get replaced by tall grass. (01:05:45)
Continuity mistake: At one point during "Hakuna Matata" Timon raises Pumbaa high into the air with a vine. As Simba watches from below, the sun casts a long shadow behind him. In the following shot, however, a shadow appears beneath him - as if the sun were located directly above. (00:45:30)
Revealing mistake: One shot before Simba and Nala exchange lines on either side of Zazu during "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", Simba leaps to the opposite edge of a small pool of water. But notice how Zazu has been animated with a completely translucent reflection and, here, we can see the image of Simba right through him, which shouldn't happen. (00:15:35)
Continuity mistake: During the stampede, the branch onto which Simba hangs changes shape between shots.
Continuity mistake: After reuniting with Simba, one of Nala's paws changes its place on the ground between shots. When Simba denies being the king, he begins to walk off screen to the left. Here, Nala stands several feet away from Timon. But by the next shot one of her paws is suddenly inches behind Timon instead. (00:56:40)
Other mistake: When Mufasa is teaching young Simba how to pounce, his left (our right) eye colour very briefly disappears when he starts saying "Let an old pro show you how it's done."
Continuity mistake: When the hyenas do the "Nazi Salute" to Scar during "Be Prepared," all of them have the same model and lack spots.
Continuity mistake: Throughout numerous scenes in the movie, Ed's ear notches switch places.
Suggested correction: Incorrect. The notches remain the same throughout the film; they just get overlapped by other colours.
Continuity mistake: During the scene when Banzai climbs up the rock covered in thorns, Ed's notches in his ears appear flipped and don't look like they do in all previous shots.
