Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1868 novel Little Women is known for being forward thinking – but not so forward thinking that it predicted the invention of plastic water bottles or Hydro Flasks.
Both were spied in the background of a scene in Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film adaptation of the classic American coming-of-age tale, in echoes of an incident earlier last year in which a takeaway coffee cup was spotted in the background of a shot in the final season of fantasy epic Game of Thrones.
The gaffe was caught by Little Women superfan Madelyn Rancourt, who documented her finding in a TikTok video that quickly went viral.
The scene, early in the film, depicts four out of five members of the March family – Meg, Jo, Amy and their mother, Marmee – meeting their neighbour, Laurie, who later becomes an important part of their lives.
In the background of a shot, atop period furniture, sits a stainless steel drink bottle – identified as a Hydro Flask – and a plastic Poland Spring bottle.
PLEASE THE HYDROFLASK AND WATER BOTTLE I CANNOT pic.twitter.com/KxwFOSAfOL
— ً (@DUNENATION) March 28, 2020
Fans reacted with mirth and horror on Twitter, with some checking their own copies of the film to verify.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS PHOTOSHOPPED SO I CHECKED AND ITS TRUE pic.twitter.com/AyybjUW7bw
— jo (@dynvmos) March 28, 2020
On Tuesday, Rancourt followed up with a second video, noting that Gerwig, and cast members Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern and Saoirse Ronan, broke down the very same scene in commentary for industry magazine Vanity Fair – and did not make mention of the bottles.
Rancourt said she had seen the film seven times in cinemas, went to a Q&A with the cast in New York, and owned multiple copies of the book. She did not say how many times she had seen the film before noticing the water bottles.
