Sunday, December 22, 2013

Keeping The Princess And The Frog Fresh In Disney Fans’ Minds, The Tiana’s Party Dress Ornament Succeeds!


The Good: Decent sculpted details, Great balance, Cute glitter, Affordable
The Bad: Sloppy paintjob.
The Basics: The 2013 "Tiana’s Party Dress" from The Princess And The Frog ornament is a well-sculpted, well-balanced ornament that unfortunately is rough around the edges as far as the paintjob goes.


As the holiday season rushes to its peak, Hallmark ornaments are (predictably) flying off the shelves. One of the ones that I am unsurprised has been selling remarkably well locally is the Disney Tiana’s Party Dress ornament. Hallmark has a pretty decent-sized line of Disney holiday ornaments this year and the Tiana’s Party Dress ornament is easily one of the best.

For those unfamiliar with The Princess And The Frog (reviewed here!), the young waitress Tiana goes to her rich friend’s birthday party in order to get enough money to buy her own restaurant. After a transformation with the visiting prince, Tiana ends up as a Princess and wears a beautiful gown in the film’s climax. It is Tiana in her powder blue dress with evening gloves and a tiara that is the subject of the Tiana’s Party Dress ornament.

Hallmark got all of the broad strokes right with Tiana’s Party Dress and sculptor Katrina Bricker accented the simple ornament with a fun amount of glitter for the dress.

Basics

The "Tiana’s Party Dress" ornament recreates Tiana as she appeared at the end of The Princess And The Frog, though not with an iconic pose. The ornament, released in 2013, is a very accurate sculpt of Tiana the waitress turned princess that suffers from a mediocre paintjob, at least on the ones I found.

Measuring four inches tall, two inches wide and one and one-half inches deep, the "Tiana’s Party Dress" ornament is an average-sized Disney character ornament. As well, it is one of the more affordable ones at only $14.95.

The Hallmark "Tiana’s Party Dress" ornament is made of a durable plastic and has Tiana, lifting her gloved right hand to her chin almost bashfully. The ornament is sculpted accurately and looks wonderful, as if there are legs under the dress with lines of force indicated by contours in the dress’s skirt. As well, Bricker expertly sculpted the tiara on Tiana’s head. Tiana’s Party Dress is colored in monotones, though there is a little bit of depth and shading to her lips and cheeks. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the dress has glitter on it, the paintjob is very sloppy. The gloves and bustline have overlapping browns (from the skin) and blues/whites (from the dress and gloves). The three ornaments I looked at all had paint abnormalities and none quite had Tiana’s eyes flawlessly rendered.

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "Tiana’s Party Dress" could have a sound effect, but it does not. Instead, this is a less-expensive option that is just the character.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Tiana’s Party Dress" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Disney movie Christmas Tree, the "Tiana’s Party Dress" ornament could be the essential The Princess And The Frog ornament (though I have not reviewed any of the others from this film!). The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top center of Tiana’s head. This is fairly obvious and necessary for the ornament. Fortunately, at that position, Tiana’s Party Dress hangs perfectly level. The balance for this ornament is excellent; Hallmark got the physics of this ornament just right!

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!). Within a few years, every major franchise from Star Wars to A Nightmare Before Christmas to Indiana Jones started making Hallmark ornaments. "Tiana’s Party Dress" is one of many The Princess And The Frog ornaments the company has released and one of several Disney ornaments on the market for 2013. This ornament has sold out, at least locally, so it might be one of the better Disney ornament investments of 2013.

Overview

Fans of The Princess And The Frog, Disney, Tiana, and Hallmark ornaments are likely to want the Tiana’s Party Dress ornament, though they should confirm first that they are getting one with a decent paint job before purchasing.

For other Disney-themed Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2013 Beautiful Belle Beauty And The Beast
2013 Fierce With A Frying Pan Tangled ornament
2013 Ariel's Big Dream The Little Mermaid ornament
2013 Merida The Archer Brave ornament
2012 The Circle Of Life The Lion King ornament
2012 Jack Sneaks A Peek The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
2012 Monsters, Inc. ornament
2012 Merida Brave ornament
2012 It's All About The Hair Tangled ornament
2011 Rapunzel Tangled ornament
2011 CLU’s Light Cycle from Tron: Legacy ornament
2011 Up ornament
2011 A Snowy Surprise The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
2011 Captain Jack Sparrow Pirates Of The Caribbean ornament
2010 Tron: Legacy Light Cycle ornament

5/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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