20 iconic films that fell victim to the Mandela Effect

No movie is safe from the Mandela Effect, not even classic films. Many people remember the Wicked Witch saying “Fly, my pretties, fly” to her monkeys in The Wizard of Oz, but she didn’t actually say that. She said, “Fly, fly, fly.”

Yep, The Wizard of Oz has twice been a victim of the Mandela Effect. The iconic line “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” has been widely misremembered as “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

The entire film Kazaam has fallen victim to the Mandela Effect. While many people remember it being called Shazaam, it’s actually called Kazaam. And it didn’t star Sinbad. It was Shaquille O’Neal who played the genie in the film. 

Even the biggest fans of The Silence of the Lambs have a distinct memory of Hannibal Lecter saying, “Hello, Clarice.” But he didn’t say that line at all. All he said was, “Good morning.” 

Even if you’ve never seen any of the Star Wars films, you’ve probably heard someone say, “Luke, I am your father.” But that’s not the line. The line actually read, “No, I am your father.”

Maybe so many of us have experienced the Mandela Effect because we think we’re better writers than those who wrote these misremembered lines. In Casablanca, Ilsa says, “Play it once, Sam. For old times’ sake.” Many a viewer incorrectly remembers her saying “Play it again, Sam.”

In Jaws, the actual line is “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” but many people remember it as “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” In those people’s defense, the two pronouns they’re mixing up sound awfully similar. 

The Field of Dreams line “If you build it, they will come” has been used as motivation for countless people throughout the years, inspiring great actions from great people. The problem is, that’s not the line. It’s actually, “If you build it, he will come.”

It’s easy to mix up iconic Forrest Gump lines because there are just so many of them. Most people remember one of the lines as “Life is like a box of chocolates,” but that’s incorrect. It’s actually “Life was like a box of chocolates.” Honest mistake. 

Star Wars fans everywhere have been damaged by learning that C3PO isn’t completely gold. He actually has a silver leg. No Star Wars fan should be ashamed of the confusion, though. Making one of his legs silver was a strange choice. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings is another classic film that’s been marred by the Mandela Effect. While many audiences believe that Gandalf said the line “Run, you fools,” he didn’t. What he actually said was, “Fly, you fools.”

Some people imagine a scene at the end of Big that straight up doesn’t exist. People fully believe that there was an alternate ending or deleted scene shown after the credits of Big that changes the ending of the film. But it’s just the Mandela Effect. 

Just about everyone in the English-speaking world has said “Mirror, mirror on the wall” at some point in their lives, often citing Snow White as the originator of the phrase. But the Wicked Queen didn’t say that. She said, “Magic mirror on the wall.”

You remember Spike from Gremlins. The gross little monster who’s green and has spiky teeth. Well, you might be remembering him wrong. His name isn’t Spike. It’s Stripe. 

This is an odd one. In Star Trek: The Voyage Home , Captain Kirk said, “Scotty, beam us up.” Between that line and the entirety of William Shatner playing Kirk, people at large believe that he once said “Beam me up, Scotty,” but he never actually did. 

Someone needs to apologize to Steven Spielberg for getting so many details about his movies wrong. E.T. initially said, “E.T. home phone.” The kids were the ones who said, "E.T., phone home." And so, then, E.T. said, "E.T., phone home." 

Remember, the Mandela Effect is not exclusive to movie lines. It can trap us with all sorts of misremembered details. In Risky Business , Tom Cruise didn’t actually have sunglasses on for his iconic bottomless scene, though many audiences believe he did. 

Songs aren’t safe from the Mandela Effect, either. In Grease, Danny Zuko sang, “This car can be: systematic, hydromatic, ultramatic.” But lots of people misremember the order of those last three words, often singing them as “Ultramatic, systematic, hydromatic.” 

Maybe people misremember the color of Freddy Krueger’s sweater because they don’t want to have any memories of A Nightmare on Elm Street. His sweater isn’t red and black like many people think. It’s red and green. 

It just makes sense that The Matrix is a victim of the Mandela Effect. Many people believe that Morpheus said the line “What if I told you” in the movie. But he doesn’t. What he really said was, “Do you want to know what it is?” Yeah, bizarre doesn’t even begin to cover it.