The Good: Decent sculpted details, Good balance, Cool sound clip, Most of the color details
The Bad: Plant coloring
The Basics: The 2015 "WALL-E" ornament from WALL-E is so very close to perfect . . .
With Hallmark's Ornament Preview Weekend behind us, I now have a ton of reviewing work to do (be patient, there are SO MANY ornaments!) and I am thrilled at the selection Hallmark is providing this year. There are a number of franchises that I attempt to review all the ornaments from - Star Trek, Star Wars, Barbie, and Disney - that I have to rotate between, so when I write my first review of an ornament from any of the reliable franchises, it is usually an ornament that is very good (buy now!) or very bad (don't get sucked in by the hype!). The 2015 WALL-E ornament falls into the former category and my championing the Disney/Pixar WALL-E ornament opens with the following caveat: I was not a fan of film upon which the ornament is based! So, that I can openly acknowledge that Hallmark had a near-miss on a perfect ornament with the 2015 WALL-E is saying something!
For those unfamiliar with WALL-E (reviewed here!), WALL-E is the robot that remains on the junked planet Earth, cleaning it up. The inarticulate little robot discovers a plant and it s WALL-E holding his potted little plant that is the subject of the 2015 WALL-E ornament.
Basics
The "WALL-E" ornament recreates the robot WALL-E as he appeared in WALL-E in the moment after it potted up the plant in an old boot. The ornament, released in 2015, is an incredibly accurate sculpt of WALL-E with an incredible amount of sculpted and surface coloring detail, as was given the the computer animated subjects of WALL-E.
Measuring three and a quarter inches tall by two and three-quarter inches wide by three inches deep, the "WALL-E" ornament is a larger than normal-sized Disney/Pixar character ornament. As well, it is one of the more affordable ones at only $17.95 (which is pretty awesome for an ornament that has a sound chip).
The Hallmark "WALL-E" ornament is made of a durable plastic and has WALL-E holding the boot and its accompanying plant in both hands, just in front of the character's main body. The ornament is sculpted accurately and gets the look of WALL-E perfectly right! WALL-E and the boot on the WALL-E ornament are colored with incredible shading and detailing, so the character looks like he might once have been clean, but he has slowly built up a grime over decades of working in the filth. The treads and eye stalks are immaculately sculpted.
The only flaw in the 2015 WALL-E ornament is the plant that is coming out of the boot. The plant is a monotonal bright green stalk and it looks animated, toylike and entirely incongruent with the realistic level of detailing to the rest of the ornament.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "WALL-E" is wonderfully accented by a sound chip. Powered by a bunch of watch-style batteries that the ornament comes with, a press of a button on the side of the robot's base activates the sound chip. There are three random sound effects that WALL-E made in the film and one clip where WALL-E identifies himself as WALL-E. This is pretty much all that Hallmark could do with a WALL-E sound clip and it is a nice, loud clip with short sound effects, per the ornament's subject.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "WALL-E" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Disney movie Christmas Tree, the "WALL-E" ornament could be the essential WALL-E ornament. The ornament has the standard steel hook loop embedded into the top center of WALL-E's eye stalk. This is fairly obvious and necessary for the ornament. Fortunately, at that position, the WALL-E ornament hangs perfectly level. The balance for this ornament is incredible, even when one pushes the button to activate the sound chip.
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. "WALL-E" is one of a handful of WALL-E ornaments (I believe this brings it up to three) the company has released and one of several Disney ornaments on the market for 2015. This ornament has not yet sold out, but the only reason it wouldn't is because of the lack of popularity of WALL-E. Anyone who loves Disney's WALL-E will find this to be an essential holiday ornament. Given the relative quality and size, it is a steal even at the original issue price of $17.95.
Overview
Fans of WALL-E, Disney, and Hallmark ornaments are likely to love the WALL-E ornament and it is one of the essential Disney ornaments from Hallmark's 2015 releases!
For other Disney-themed Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2014 Queen Elsa Frozen Limited Edition
2014 Bank On Hamm Toy Story ornament
2014 Jack's Peculiar Pet The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
2014 The Daring Princess The Princess And The Frog ornament
2014 Rapunzel's Long Locks Tangled ornament
2014 The Little Mermaid 25th Anniversary ornament
2014 "This Is Halloween" The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
2014 All Eyes On Belle Beauty And The Beast ornament
2014 Olaf Frozen ornament
2013 Under The Sea The Little Mermaid
2013 The Nightmare Before Christmas Jack’s Sleigh O’Scares
2013 Tiana's Party Dress The Princess And The Frog ornament
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
2009 Welcome To Christmastown The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
9.5/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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