Goofs

The apparent size of Kong changes from 18 feet to 24 feet. This was a conscious decision of director Merian C. Cooper, who felt that Kong's size wasn't impressive enough in New York. The publicity materials would later state Kong's height was 60 feet, almost 3 times the average height as he is actually depicted in the film.

(at around 50 mins) When Denham and his men build a raft to follow Kong, the first shot of the completed raft shows that it is far too small to carry everyone.

In close-ups of his face, King Kong has more teeth than he does when his whole body is shown.

There were two Kong puppets, with differently-shaped heads. The "long-faced" Kong puppet was used for many of the dinosaur fighting scenes and at the top of the Empire State Building. The blunt-headed Kong was used in scenes with Ann Darrow tied to the altar and for many of the New York City climbing scenes. There was also a single full-sized mechanical head built for some of the close-ups. This Kong had extremely white teeth.

The chrome steel cuff on Kng's right wrist after his escape in the theatre disappears during his climb up the hotel and the elevated train scenes. It appears again as he puts Ann down on the top of the Empire State Building and as he fights the airplanes, but disappears for good during the final volley.

(at around 1h 30 mins) In the sequence where Kong attacks a subway train in NYC, there is no 3rd rail shown, and no sparks as the tracks are torn up. 600 DC volts would have at least given a bad shock to Kong.

Whatever civilization built the wall on Skull Island never thought that the huge doors would be way more secure if only that they had opened inwardly instead of outward. Kong could not have put all the pressure on the retaining bar and there would be no way for him to grab on to a door and pull it open.

Being located in the South Pacific north of Java and Sumatra, the island on which Kong lives should be inhabited by Asian people. Instead, the natives and their costumes appear to be African.

One of the sailors is almost eaten alive by an Apatosaurus. Apatosaurus was actually a plant eating dinosaur and therefore did not eat meat. If you look carefully the Apatosaurs also has razor sharp teeth which Apatosaurs did not have in real life.

Given the numerous perils that the expedition members face and the possibility of contact with germs from both a native tribe and dinosaur species that they've never previously encountered, it's alarming that there is no doctor or medical staff on board the ship.

Fifteen men chase Kong through the forest. At the end of the pursuit, only Driscoll and Denham are leftover. Nevertheless, when Denham speaks to the audience, he tells them "twelve of our party met horrible deaths". Thus, one man disappears. The explanation: A deleted sequence between the encounters with the brontosaurus in the swampy lake and Kong at the fallen-tree bridge across the ravine. In it, the survivors of the first incident meet three triceratops, and undoubtedly the other "horrible death" occurred here. Armstrong-as-Denham's line, having been shot in early 1932, could not be altered to allow for the cut.

"The natives built the wall on Skull Island to protect themselves from King Kong, yet put a pair of doors on it big enough for him to come through." This is a common misconception. Since Kong can climb the Empire State Building, he probably gets into the compound occasionally; the size of the gate allows the villagers to send him back out.

On Skull Island only one gas grenade is needed to knock out Kong. But in the theatre there are no gas grenades in case Kong broke loose. This is in line with Denham's risk-taking personality as shown throughout the film. As he believed the shackles would be enough to hold Kong down, he simply didn't bother with a contingency plan.

(at around 1h 24 mins) During the show in New York, Carl Denham refers to Jack Driscoll as "John Driscoll." This is not incorrect, however, as Jack was once commonly used as a diminutive name for men named John.

No explicit definitions/names of the dinosaurs are given, so the dinosaur that attacks the crewmen in the lake and eats a sailor that climbs up a tree may be a carnivorous one that resembles a herbivore (a brontosaurus).

(at around 1h 14 mins) A Skull Island resident jumps from a hut and falls beside a domed chicken cage, which then hinges backwards and catches the actor's wig, taking it off his head, and remaining on top of the cage.

Kong's fur seems to ripple as he moves, this is due to the indentations made in the fur of the Kong model by the fingers of the men who were constantly touching it to change its position slightly to produce the stop-motion animation effects.

(at around 51 mins) The men move the raft by pushing it with a pole, yet the water is deep enough for a dinosaur to submerge.

(at around 59 mins) In the middle of Kong's battle with the T-Rex, the tree on which Ann Darrow sits falls to the ground. While this occurs, the stop-motion animation of the two fighting monsters ceases completely and visibly before the end of the wide shot of the falling tree.

(at around 40 mins) As the island natives climb to the top of the wall, it is obvious by their quick movements and quick flickering of their torches that the film has been sped up.

Right after Kong kills the snake-like dinosaur in the cave, he carries Ann up to the outside opening. As he starts up the incline, you can see in one frame a animation stand. Shortly after that when Kong and Ann are outside, the animation stand appears again for one frame. Blu-Ray recordings have taken these goofs out.

When Kong takes Ann to the edge of the cliff on Skull Island, the animation stand is visible for one frame, accidentally left in the shot for a single frame by the technical artists. NOTE: In the Bluray version of the release, this error has been digitally removed.

(at around 1h 35 mins) As Kong is atop the Empire State Building and just as he is getting shot for the final time, the thin shadow of 'something' is cast across his chest. Naturally if he is up as high as the top of the building there shouldn't be anything that would be able to cast a stable shadow across his chest - unless it is a piece of off-screen equipment that happens to lie between Kong and the lighting.

In the matte painting visible when the crew first sees the island, Skull Mountain seems to be directly behind the wall. Based on the action that follows, the mountain must be several miles behind the wall.

When Kong is on the Empire State Building, even though it is supposed to be morning, rays of sunlight are poking through the clouds from the west, on the New Jersey side of Manhattan, an impossibility at that time of day.

The Empire State Building is southeast of New York's theater district, so it is unclear why the radio is saying that Kong is headed west when he is headed for the Empire State Building.

In the wide shot of Kong climbing the Empire State Building, he is climbing the western face of the structure. The financial district is visible to the south in the background. The shot of him atop the tower shows the Chrysler Building directly behind him. That building being to the ESB's northeast, which puts Kong on the southern face of the building. When he falls, in the closer shot, he falls back to the south east. Back in the wide shot, he falls off the western side.

One of the native women is wearing a coconut bra.These are culturally Hawaiian and are not found in the South Pacific. Also, they were developed in the early 20th century as a response to tourism and are connected with the Hulu rather than being an everyday garment.

There is no explanation as how Kong could have been gotten into the ship, or where in the ship he would have been kept, or how he could have been put up in chains in New York.

The villagers have to go to extreme effort to move the locking bar and open/close the enormous gates every time they want to perform their rituals. It also exposes them to the possibility of Kong or the dinosaurs from the other side getting through while the gates are open. A smaller, human sized opening would allow them to pass through easily for their rituals, without allowing the large beasts on the other side through.

With Kong on the loose in the streets of Manhattan, it seems likely that the authorities would have immediately suspended all train service on elevated tracks.

As Kong breaks out of the theater and begins his rampage through the streets of New York, a policeman yells into a patrol call box "Send the riot squad, ambulances...Kong has escaped!" Up to this point, who or what Kong is has been a closely guarded secret. That he has escaped would mean nothing to a dispatcher.

Driscoll's been on two trips with Englehorn, and therefore should know the Venture's dimensions--unless the trips were on different vessels. So, nearing Skull Island and sounding its depth, he shouldn't have to ask the skipper about the keel, "What's she draw?" ("Four" is the answer; in fathoms, 24 feet.) As first mate, Jack should already know this. Carl Denham asked the skipper, not Driscoll.

The natives apparently open the huge door so that Ann and other previous victims can be passed through the wall to be sacrificed to Kong. The natives did not consider the possibility or risk that Kong or the dinosaurs can enter through the doorway when open.

When the native chief spots the crew, he descends the steps. The crowd is facing away from him but still clears a path for him.