The Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom Movie Mistake That Floridians Notice Immediately

It may have taken some time for "Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom" to get the love it deserves, but that hasn't stopped some fans from still finding details to pick apart. Released in 1984, the film takes place before the events of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and sees Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) tasked with saving the children of an Indian village from a savage underground cult that practices black magic. While "Temple of Doom" was successful at the box office, earning nearly $180 million (via Box Office Mojo) and becoming one of the highest-grossing films of that year, it received mixed critical responses at the time. Many critics and audiences were turned off by the film's darker, more violent nature, which partially helped birth the PG-13 rating to the MPAA (via The Hollywood Reporter). Dave Kehr of The Chicago Reader comments that "the film betrays no human impulse higher than that of a ten-year-old boy trying to gross out his baby sister by dangling a dead worm in her face." Even the film's director Steven Spielberg considers "Temple of Doom" his least favorite amongst the original trilogy (via Movieweb).

However, since its initial release, fans have warmed up to the film, with some, such as Quentin Tarantino (via MovieMaker), even calling it their favorite of the franchise. Nevertheless, there are still some quirks fans have taken issue with — including one that any sharp-eyed Floridian is sure to catch quicker than Indy's whip.

One of the dangers that Indy and his gang encounter on their journey in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is a rickety bridge that sits above a ravine. A watery grave is not all that would meet whoever is unlucky enough to lose their footing, but so will the jaws of a horde of countless ravenous crocodiles. While they are not focused on for very long, it doesn't take more than a few seconds to realize that these are not crocodiles, but alligators, which are only native to North America and China. Their distinctly U-shaped rounded snouts are a dead giveaway, whereas crocodiles have a pointier V-shaped snout (via Britannica). The gators were filmed at Orlando, Florida's Gatorland theme park, which also doubles as a wildlife preserve for Florida wildlife (via Parkeology). Whether they couldn't get any Indian crocodile species because of the film's inability to shoot in the country due to the Indian government finding the script offensive is unclear, but regardless, the gators are here to stay in all their scaly glory. 

Fans were quick to play around with the factoid. On Reddit, a thread started by u/JTB696699 points out the mistake, which led to a series of playful responses. Redditor u/Perfect-Put-3171 was relieved to hear that others noticed, commenting, "This has bothered me for the longest time!!"  While others made excuses for the gators' appearance, Redditor u/Ragaee simply tells it as it is, saying, "Typical Hollywood gatorwashing."