Mandela Effect leaves movie lovers angry after iconic Forrest Gump quote realization

One of the most iconic lines in cinematic history has been misheard for the last three decades - and fans are fuming.

Tom Hanks captured our hearts as loveable Forrest Gump in the 1994 movie of the same name.

The line: 'Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get,' is instantly recognizable and often-quoted.

Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks, is arguably one of the most iconic films of the century (Sunset Boulevard/Getty Images)

Not only can you hear Hanks' southern drawl, but you can picture the scene, too: The park bench, Gump's tan suit, the puzzled nurse who attempts to ignore his seemingly non-sensical ramblings.

But what if I told you the quote we all know and love is, in fact, wrong?

It's true - movie fans have fallen foul of the Mandela Effect, a type of false memory where large groups of people incorrectly remember the same thing.

While people remember Gump recalling his mom's wisdom as: 'Life is like a box of chocolates,' he actually says: 'My momma always said, life was like a box of chocolates.'

Don't believe me? Watch the clip below:

In fact, the line 'life is like a box of chocolates' was never once uttered in the movie. I know - I'm just as shocked as you are.

But there's a very similar quote in the emotional scene when Forrest's mom, played by Sally Field, reveals she's dying. She tells Forrest she was 'destined' to be his mom, to which he asks what his destiny might be.

His mom responds that he needs to figure that out for himself, adding: "Life is a box of chocolates, Forrest, you never know what you're gonna get."

Taking to Reddit to discuss the Mandela Effect, many fans were angry, but one set the record straight: "It's both. In the movie his mama tells him 'life is a box of chocolates'. Then later when he retells the story at the bus stop Forrest says 'Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates'."

A second said: "'Life was like' sounds familiar to me, and makes sense... I think it's just been paraphrased too much."

A third wrote: "He quoted it in past tense because it's something she said in the past. People remember the nature of the quote, not its grammatical context, I think."

The 'box of chocolates' quote is also referenced in the scene with Forrest and his dying mother (Sunset Boulevard/Getty Images)

However other social media users reckon the line has been altered. One person claimed: "The back of the VHS says 'Life is like a box of chocolates…You never know what you’re gonna get'."

A second person points out the movie's marketing materials 'remain unchanged' and must mean the 'in-movie quote... matched once upon a timeline.'

They added: "It really makes no sense now that an entire marketing campaign would ever have been built on a quote that never actually even appeared in the film."

Others reckon Forrest's famous line was open to interpretation. One person shares: "To me, it sounds like 'Life "uz " like a box of chocolates' because of the southern accent. Sort of like a misheard song lyric. If no one pointed out to me that he's saying 'was', I'd interpret it as 'is.'"

A second agrees: "Me too. I rewatched it and still think it could go either way".