Film Fans Are Just Spotting the Mistake in 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'

TikTok users can't unsee this mistake in How the Grinch Stole Christmas after one fan of the flick pointed it out online.

In a video posted to TikTok on December 13, @redcobweb shared a clip from the 2000 film, in which Jim Carrey's eyes change color during a scene.

"Every time I watch the Grinch I notice this one little mistake they made whether they forgot to either put his contacts in or to edit them in afterwards," @cobweb said in the video. "So just Jim Carrey's brown eyes are just there. And in the next scene, they're back to that."

TikTokers were shocked by the film's fail, with some users calling Carrey's real eyes "scarier" than the Grinch's orange ones.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

How the Grinch Stole Christmas was released in 2000 and starred Jim Carrey in the lead role. Based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name, first published in 1957, the film focuses on a "Grinch" who hates Christmas, so he tries to steal it from the nearby town of Whoville.

The movie also launched the career of Taylor Momsen, who played Cindy Lou Who and was 7 years old at the time. She went on to star in the original Gossip Girl series (2009) and is now the lead singer of the rock band The Pretty Reckless.

Although the Carrey adaption received mixed reviews from critics— it only has 49 percent on Rotten Tomatoes—over the years the movie has become a Christmas classic.

It was, of course, not the first iteration of the story to hit screens. How The Grinch Stole Christmas has been adapted three times, the first being the 1966 made-for-TV cartoon (which has a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes).

Illumination Entertainment, best known for The Minions franchise, created a feature-length animation in 2018 starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch, with the theme composed by Danny Elfman (The Simpsons, The Nightmare Before Christmas).

Unfortunately, the movie didn't fair much better with reviewers than its predecessor, getting a "rotten" rating of 59 percent.

'I JUST SCREAMED I NEVER SAW THIS'

A literal "blink-and-you'll-miss-it," detail, it would take a persistent re-watcher like @redcobweb to spot the mistake.

For a brief moment, Carrey's natural brown eye color can be spotted, instead of the amber eyes of his character.

Special effects makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji was responsible for turning Carrey into the Grinch. The three-time Oscar nominee described the experience as a nightmare for both himself and Carrey.

In an interview with Vulture in 2018, Tsuji said that the huge contacts Carrey was forced to wear were a particular issue, with the fake snow on set constantly getting caught under the lenses.

Spending all day in green fur and body paint was also uncomfortable for Carrey, who allegedly took his anger out on the makeup crew. Tsuji left the production temporarily and only returned after production promised to help him get his green card (and Carrey promised to behave).

The scene shown in @redcobweb's shows the Grinch back in his home on Mount Crumpit, after he goes on a rampage in Whoville.

"I've watched the Grinch so many times and never noticed this," commented Megan Anderson.

"That's surprisingly scary without the contacts," said Tina Hill.

"I JUST SCREAMED I NEVER SAW THIS," wrote Cate.

"You mean Jim carreys BEAUTIFUL brown eyes," said Savannah.

Maddie commented: "no wonder he looks so different in that scene I can never understand why... now I know."

Newsweek reached out to @redcobweb for comment.