7 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Mistakes You’ll Never Be Able to Unsee

Harry Potter is back, sporting a new haircut, and preparing for a fight in *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*. This film, the first directed by David Yates, is noticeably different in tone from the earlier movies. The lighthearted fun of magical sweets is replaced by a much darker story, as Voldemort has returned and the Ministry of Magic is riddled with corruption. While the stakes are incredibly high, even this serious installment isn’t without its mistakes.

If you watch *Order of the Phoenix* closely, paying attention to details in the background, you’ll find quite a few mistakes made during filming. Like other *Harry Potter* movies, this one had issues with costumes, editing, and even sound – it seems some things slipped past the crew! Once you spot these seven errors, they’ll be hard to unsee, so proceed with caution.

7) Dudley Changes His Shorts

From the very beginning, the movie establishes the mood – Harry’s all alone, looking gloomy on a swing, and then his cousin Dudley shows up to pick on him, naturally. And honestly, Dudley’s outfit is *perfect* for a spoiled kid in Little Whinging – black shorts covered in this loud, busy pattern of numbers, letters, and logos. But here’s what’s weird: just a few minutes later, when they’re heading into the tunnel where those terrifying Dementors show up, he’s suddenly wearing a completely different pair of shorts! It’s a small detail, but it definitely struck me as odd.

The two pairs of shorts look alike, but the pattern is arranged differently. The large circular logo that was on the inside of the thigh is missing, and there are fewer white symbols. It’s funny to think Dudley might have accidentally put his shorts on backward, suggesting he actually takes them completely off – which makes sense for him. But the more probable explanation is that the costume department misplaced the original shorts during filming and had to use a similar pair for the actor, Harry.

6) Weird Wands in Umbridge’s Lair

When Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna are brought to Umbridge’s office, she immediately takes their wands. She puts them on her desk, near her own wand, which is carefully placed on a lace doily in the center. However, if you watch closely during the scene, you’ll notice the positions of the wands change between different camera shots.

Depending on the angle, the collection of wands appears either closely packed together or scattered across the desk. One wand has even rolled onto the floor. While it’s likely the props team simply rearranged the items between shots and didn’t bother to take a picture for consistency, knowing the playful nature of Dumbledore’s Army, it’s also possible they enchanted the confiscated wands to move on their own.

5) Harry’s Camera Duel

The fight at the Ministry of Magic is a standout visual moment in the series, particularly when Dumbledore intervenes. However, just before the climactic duel with Voldemort, a small camera error is visible. As Voldemort taunts Harry after disarming him, the camera circles around Harry for a close-up shot. Unfortunately, the camera’s shadow briefly crosses Harry’s face, creating a momentary dark spot.

Camera and lighting crews usually prevent these mistakes, but it seems they may have dismissed this one as a shadow caused by Voldemort. It’s almost convincing, but once you notice it, it’s distracting, even if only briefly.

4) The Vanishing Face of Bellatrix

Daniel Radcliffe has said that *Order of the Phoenix* was his favorite of the *Harry Potter* films because he enjoyed working with Gary Oldman. A lot of their scenes were filmed at 12 Grimmauld Place, and the Black family tapestry helped illustrate the family’s complicated history. During a scene where Sirius explains Harry’s family tree, something odd happens with Bellatrix Lestrange’s portrait. She’s clearly visible in one shot, but disappears in the very next wider view.

The issue isn’t just one missing frame. Throughout the scene, Bellatrix’s image appears and disappears depending on the camera angle. Instead of becoming a blurry spot like the object next to her, her face is simply replaced with more detailed background elements. It seems the editors combined footage from different points in the set’s construction. While most people probably won’t notice, fans of the character will likely feel something is off with her appearance on the wall.

3) Grawp Takes Hermione’s Legs

Hagrid’s introduction of his giant half-brother, Grawp, is a surprisingly divisive part of *Order of the Phoenix*. Some readers enjoy it as a lighthearted break, while others find the special effects clumsy and feel it doesn’t fully explore Hagrid’s backstory. Interestingly, a hidden technical error can actually be spotted within the Dark Forest scenes.

When the giant Grawp carries Hermione, a visual effect makes it look like her legs disappear. Instead of looking completely real, you can actually see the edges where the computer-generated image meets Emma Watson’s actual body. It’s a noticeable effect from the early days of digital effects technology. If you’re watching the DVD on a large screen, you might spot where Hermione’s legs are missing!

2) Crew Guy Finds the Room of Requirement

The training scenes with Dumbledore’s Army are a highlight of the movie, perfectly showing the hope and teamwork of the young wizards as they fight against darkness. However, a funny mistake appears when Ginny casts the Patronus charm. For a split second, a reflection shows a member of the film crew – likely someone operating the camera or handling sound – wearing a t-shirt and cap.

It’s easy to overlook someone who doesn’t belong in a movie scene – a person who looks like a regular bystander. Film crews are actually told to wear black clothing to avoid being noticeable if they accidentally appear on camera – you can imagine how distracting bright colors would be! But despite these precautions, some of us are observant enough to spot even the most subtle mistake, like someone who clearly doesn’t belong.

1) Harry Switches Sweaty Pajamas

Following his argument with Seamus in the Gryffindor common room, Harry struggles to sleep, haunted by disturbing images of the Department of Mysteries. The scene shows him restless in bed, and notably, he’s sweating so much that a large stain is visible on the collar of his blue t-shirt. However, when Voldemort suddenly wakes him, Harry instantly sits up – now wearing a different shirt, a button-down Henley.

The same Henley shirt appears again when Harry sees a vision of Arthur Weasley being attacked, suggesting the initial scene was edited and then reused footage from that nightmare sequence was inserted. There’s no logical explanation for this continuity error – perhaps Voldemort cursed the shirt! Once you notice it, it briefly breaks the flow of the film, but thankfully, the rest of the movie is strong enough to quickly pull you back into the story.

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2025-09-27 19:43