The Good: Inexpensive Enough, Limited edition nature, Good sculpt, Good coloring
The Bad: No feature, Slightly off-balance
The Basics: “Jack’s Peculiar Pet” is an awesome The Nightmare Before Christmas limited edition ornament that is worth picking up this year!
One of the most popular franchises of Hallmark ornaments has to be A Nightmare Before Christmas. Most years lately, Hallmark produces more than one ornament from the film The Nightmare Before Christmas and this year is no exception. As an alternative to the common-release ornament of the fountain that was shown for only about five seconds in the film, this year Hallmark did a limited edition ornament: “Jack’s Peculiar Pet.“ “Jack’s Peculiar Pet “ focuses on Jack Skellington’s ghost dog and it is one of the better Hallmark ornaments for a Disney-themed subject.
For those unfamiliar with A Nightmare Before Christmas (reviewed here!) Zero was Jack Skellington’s dog, who happened to be a ghost with a little jack o’lantern nose. When Skellington needs to get through the fog on Christmas, he calls upon Zero to guide his sleigh. It is Zero floating above his dog house that is the subject of the “Jack’s Peculiar Pet” ornament.
Basics
The "Jack’s Peculiar Pet" ornament recreates Zero, attached at the base of his flowing body to the roof of his dog house. The limited-edition ornament, released in 2014, is exceptionally accurate as it can be considering it is based upon an animated work for the source material. Because everything in A Nightmare Before Christmas is colored in simple solid colors (without human shading or details), the ornament appropriately does not have complex shading to it. That said, it looks perfectly like the dog house and ghost dog in the film.
Hallmark clearly made an effort on the "Jack’s Peculiar Pet" ornament, with amazing detailing on the very thin fence that surrounds the plot of Earth upon which Zero’s dog house rests. Zero has exceptional detailing in his nose, which looks perfectly like a jack o’lantern. Measuring two and three quarter inches tall (from the base to the top of the cross on Zero’s doghouse), two inches wide and two and three-eighths inches deep, the "Jack’s Peculiar Pet" ornament is a little smaller than many of the other The Nightmare Before Christmas Ornaments, but given how Zero is a smaller character, it fits the rest of the ornaments well.
The Hallmark "Jack’s Peculiar Pet" ornament is made of a durable plastic, with awesome very thin pieces, like Zero’s ears and the fence around the doghouse. This ornament sold out at most every Hallmark shop I have gone to since the October release, so most fans will only find it in the secondary market.
“Jack’s Peculiar Pet” ornament has pretty cool coloring details. The jack o’lantern nose is so well-detailed that it has beautiful yellow highlights in the tiny holes in the pumpkin nose. Zero himself is cast in a pearlescent white plastic that looks coolly ghostly.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "Jack’s Peculiar Pet" could have a light or sound function, but it has neither. Instead, this is a very basic ornament that I suspect would look awesome under a blacklight, but does not feature any lighting or sound clips.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Jack’s Peculiar Pet" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Christmas Tree for A Nightmare Before Christmas, the "Jack’s Peculiar Pet" ornament is an impressive addition. The ornament has the standard steel hook loop embedded into the top, near center, of the doghouse’s roof. The cross on the roof of the doghouse hides the hook loop fairly well.
The placement of the loop makes this ornament a bit right-heavy. It leans to the right probably because Zero is attached to the right side of the roof of the doghouse. It is not seriously off-balance, but because the base is flat on the bottom, it is noticeably off balance.
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, virtually every major studio with a marketable property jumped on the bandwagon and began merchandising Christmas ornaments, including A Nightmare Before Christmas. "Jack’s Peculiar Pet" was one of two A Nightmare Before Christmas ornaments released in 2014 and fans bought them all up, as far as I can find. The original price of $14.95 is likely the lowest one will find it at as it is already appreciating in the secondary market. For those who can still find it stores, it seems like a good investment piece.
Overview
This year’s A Nightmare Before Christmas limited edition ornament is a real winner; Jack’s Peculiar Pet is one of the best Hallmark ornaments this year!
For other A Nightmare Before Christmas Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2014 "Welcome To Halloween" ornament
2013 Jack’s Sleigh O’Scares
2012 Jack Sneaks A Peek ornament
2011 A Snowy Surprise ornament
2009 Welcome To Christmastown ornament
8/10
For other ornament reviews, please check out my Ornament Review Index Page!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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