The Good: Good sculpt, Vivid coloring, Decent balance
The Bad: Dull, No flexibility, Hair coloring is a little off.
The Basics: For 2011, Hallmark Keepsake presented the Prima Ballerina Barbie Hallmark ornament and had a fairly decent Barbie ornament.
As we move ever-closer toward Christmas, I thought that I would continue reviewing Hallmark Christmas ornaments, especially ones outside my usual ballywick. That brought me back to Barbie Christmas ornaments and the Prima Ballerina Barbie Ornament. Barbie Christmas ornaments are nothing new to me. I have reviewed the Barbie Debut Ornament (reviewed here!) and the Enchanted Evening Barbie Hallmark Ornament (reviewed here!) and neither were impressive to me. The Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament from 2011 changes my feelings about Hallmark's Barbie ornament line!
For those unfamiliar with them, Barbie dolls have been a leading trademarked doll (and model for unrealistic female bodytypes!) from Mattel for over sixty years. Hallmark Keepsake picked up the Barbie license in order to produce Christmas ornaments and Prima Ballerina Barbie is one of twelve Barbie ornaments produced for 2011!
Basics
The Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament recreates the Prima Ballerina Barbie doll with Barbie up on her toes in toeshoes. The ornament features the recognizable visage of Barbie with her blonde hair pulled back in a bun, much like Cinderella. This Barbie is uncharacteristically not wearing make-up! The ornament has Barbie wearing a simple white tutu with flared skirt. The skirt is webbed, white and made of nylon. This Barbie ornament is 4 1/2" tall by 2 1/4" wide and deep because of the skirt.
The Hallmark Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament is made of a durable plastic outside the nylon skirt and has the feminine icon standing alone, holding her left hand over her head. Her one-piece is colored bright white and silver-gray accents along her stomach and bust. She is wearing white toeshoes and a tiara. This Barbie is distinctive in that she has great depth and shading on her skin tones in her face. Her hair is a little less impressive, though Hallmark clearly tried to have ornament look more realistic with different colors to the hair. The Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament I picked up for review had yellow hair with odd mustard yellow and brown highlights that clashed with the main color.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, Prima Ballerina Barbie could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. This is just an ornament, a low-cost (comparatively) option for fans of Barbie. I think it's disappointing that Prima Ballerina Barbie does not have any articulation to her limbs. It was well within the abilities of Hallmark to make the ornament articulated at least at the shoulders or neck, but they opted for a boring statue look for the ornament and that disappoints some.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Barbie Christmas Tree, the Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament is a great addition. The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top back of the character's head, behind the tiara. From there, one hangs the ornament and this Barbie ornament is perfectly balanced! Unlike the doll itself, which is almost impossible to get to stand up, the Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament has great balance and hangs perfectly!
Collectibility
Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, they have branched out into every major franchise from Barbie to Gone With The Wind to Twilight. The Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament is selling surprisingly coldly, despite the fact thay it is one of the better in the Barbie ornament line. I imagine this one will be one of the easiest Barbie ornaments to find on the secondary market, especially after the Christmas holiday.
Overview
Fans of the Barbie franchise are likely to get a kick out of the Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament. The coloring on the hair may be a little off and the skirt looks a little goofy, but the sculpt and skin and costume coloring is pretty wonderful. This is a decent buy for anyone who likes Barbie dolls or Hallmark ornaments.
For other 2011 ornament reviews of characters, please check out my reviews of:
Bella, Edward And Jacob Twilight ornament
Rapunzel Tangled ornament
"Almost A Kiss" Gone With The Wind ornament
7/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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