Factual error: In the scene where Bobby and Mike go into the comic book store, you can clearly see a Transformers comic on the shelf. But the movie is set in the late 1960's/early 1970's....and Transformers did not come out until the 1980's.
Continuity mistake: As the boys are running through the sewer tunnel, both of them fall several times, and they are covered with dirt and sewage. When they come out and face the bullies, their clothes are clean.
Continuity mistake: When the family moves into the new house, the father rips the former owners' name sign off the front of the house. A few shots later, it's back.
Continuity mistake: At the end when Mike receives the first postcard from Bobby, the flag on the mailbox is up, meaning there is mail to be picked up by the postman. Then when he takes the mail out and runs towards the house, the flag is down without him touching it.
Factual error: The walkie-talkies the kids use at the end of the film would not make the squealing noise they do. The walkie-talkies they have transmit on high enough frequencies that this would not happen. Mediumwave and Shortwave have this effect, not walkie-talkies.
Revealing mistake: After Mike has come home from being beaten up during a game of football, there are no longer open wounds by his mouth and nose, and the dried "blood" looks more like Kool-Aid stains.
Continuity mistake: In the first scene with Bobby's first postcard, he writes his name as "doddy" as a young child might, reversing the Bs. Later, when you see the postcard hanging by a string, it is written "bobby" instead. (01:44:55)
Other mistake: The newspaper at the gas station is dated 1962. The movie is set in 1969. The problem with this is that in the beginning, the narrator mentions that the Fisher incident happened 10 years before they moved to Novato. It has only been 7.
Visible crew/equipment: At the golf course as the boys are describing what they are seeing, the camera shadow is visible on Bobby's left shoulder the entire shot. When we see both boys and Shane in the same scene, the shadow is now mostly on the dog.
Audio problem: After Bobby says the "F" word, he says "someone get me soap, I'll do it myself." His mouth doesn't match.
Visible crew/equipment: At the beginning when the kids are helping Fisher put his cape on there is a shot looking at them. At the bottom of the frame is the shadow of the camera.
Answer: The script's ending was ultimately changed by director Richard Donner from what writer David Evans had originally written. In the original ending, it was made clear that the Radio Flyer had actually worked and it was seen hanging (actually floating) next to the Wright Brother's plane in the Smithsonian. Donner instead wanted the ending to be a "Rorschach Test", meaning the viewer sees the ending as he or she wants. So if you perceive it as working and Bobby being free or you see it as Bobby committing suicide, etc, it's meant as a reflection on you. However, Evans has said that he never intended the ending to be, or allude to, suicide, but because of the script changes, he understands how people could make that conclusion.
Bishop73