Continuity mistake: When Potter comes down the stairs with his trunk, the strap on the trunk is bent backwards. When it cuts it lies normally on the trunk. (00:06:25)
Continuity mistake: When Potter points his wand at Vernon and Vernon says, "You're not allowed to use magic outside school," you see Vernon holding his hands down. When the scene cuts back to Vernon, he has his hand by the banister. (00:06:25)
Continuity mistake: When Potter points his wand at Uncle Vernon you can see his index finger on the wand. When it cuts his index finger is pulled back. [Harry has obviously jerked backward when Uncle Vernon approaches him -- Vernon is obviously closer in the second shot -- and it would be a natural reflex to withdraw his finger as well.] (00:06:25)
Continuity mistake: When Vernon says, "You've nowhere to go," to Potter, you see Vernon grab the banister. When it cuts, the way he holds the banister changes. (00:06:30)
Continuity mistake: When Harry puts his trunk on the pavement and sits down you can see him putting both hands to the ground. When it cuts while he is sitting down, you see him supporting himself on the trunk with his left hand. (00:07:10)
Continuity mistake: After leaving the Dursleys, Harry sits down on the pavement beside his trunk, with no room between the two. When he turns to look at the squeaking swings, in the shot from behind him, there is at least a foot of space between Harry and the trunk. Yet in the next shot that faces him, the trunk is beside him once again. (00:07:20)
Continuity mistake: When Potter spots the dog at the bus stop he stumbles backwards and falls onto the pavement. Then we see the bus light come at him. When it cuts we see the bus come around the corner. How could the light be shining on him when the bus wasn't coming at him at all? (00:07:50)
Continuity mistake: As the Knight Bus begins to appear, Harry falls back onto the ground, leans on his arms and in the front shot his sweatshirt is off his right shoulder, but in the next side shot, as he still leans on his arms, both sides of his jacket are properly on. (00:07:55)
Continuity mistake: After Harry leaves the Dursleys, Sirius the dog shows up behind a park bench surrounded by dimly lit thick bushes. When the Knight Bus arrives, the bench is visible across the street and now it's brightly lit and the trash container beside the bench is clearly visible. Then, before Harry boards he has one more look at the bench and it is just as dark as the first shot. (00:08:00)
Continuity mistake: When Harry falls backwards onto the pavement, after seeing Sirius the dog, in the shot facing Harry the trunk lies halfway up on the pavement. However, in the next shot as the Knight Bus nears, only the very top edge of the trunk leans on the pavement. Yet in following shots it is halfway up the pavement again. (00:08:10)
Continuity mistake: When Harry falls back after being startled by Sirius the dog, the Knight Bus headlights shine glaringly bright light all over Harry and the trunk. Yet in the next shot facing the oncoming Knight Bus, Harry and the trunk are barely lit by the headlights, which are nowhere near as bright. In the previous shot the light is obviously provided by spots. (00:08:10)
Continuity mistake: When Stan Shunpike begins, "Welcome to the Knight Bus emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard...," in Harry's close-up the lamppost is directly behind Harry. However, in the shot from behind Stan when Harry says, "I fell over," the post is about 6 ft away, to Harry's left. (00:08:25)
Continuity mistake: When Harry gets on the Knight Bus, as he's stepping on, half of his jacket is wet (on the bottom) from falling on the wet pavement. Once he's on the bus, there's a quick shot of him from the back, and it is all dry. (00:08:40)
Continuity mistake: As Potter walks into the Knight Bus you see Stan lifting Potter's trunk inside. When it cuts, the way Stan comes in with the trunk changes. (00:08:45)
Continuity mistake: When Potter goes onto the bus he has his arms down. When in cuts he has his right arm in his pocket. (00:08:45)
Continuity mistake: When Potter has entered the Knight Bus you see him passing a bed. While doing so he grabs the bed pole and lets go of it, but when it cuts you can see him still holding the pole. (00:08:55)
Continuity mistake: When Harry boards the Knight Bus in the exterior shot, the curtain in the small window at the stairs is pushed open towards the outside of the bus. However, in the next interior shot the curtain is pushed open towards the inside of the bus. (00:09:00)
Audio problem: In the Knight Bus, when Shrunken Head says, "Yeah, take..." in the front shot, his mouth, cheek and jaw move as he speaks. As he continues, "...it away, Ernie! It's going to..." in the back shot, his mouth and jaw do not move at all, yet when he says, "...to be a..." his mouth and jaw move as usual. (00:09:20)
Continuity mistake: When Stan Shunpike says, "Take it away Ernie," we see Ernie having a bite of his toast. He then puts his hand with the toast down to put the bus in gear, but when the view cuts back the toast is suddenly gone. (00:09:20)
Continuity mistake: After Harry boards the Knight Bus, Stan hands him his ticket. In the shot facing Stan he folds the paper and holds it between his index and middle fingers. However, in the shot facing Harry, the paper is straight and he holds it between his thumb and index finger. (00:09:30)
Chosen answer: It's not known what it is. It is left to the audience's imagination of what exactly is in the room or what some witch or wizard was doing in there. This is only meant to be a humorous bit and is unrelated to the plot. It didn't happen in the book.
raywest ★