The Good: Good sculpt, Decent balance, Good sound effect, Good general coloring
The Bad: Somewhat animated look, Seams at arms
The Basics: The 2015 Hallmark Keepsake “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” does justice to the classic 1970s icon version from Wonder Woman and makes for a generally good ornament.
A few weeks ago, actress Lynda Carter who played Diana Prince and Wonder Woman in the mid-'70s television show Wonder Woman turned 64. Right up front, I think it is worth noting that if the director of the new Wonder Woman film does not offer Lynda Carter the role of Hippolyta, then there really is no hope for the DC Cinematic Universe. And, while Lynda Carter is an impressive actress and great musical performer, it bears saying, "Damn! I hope I look that good at . . . well, ever!" For the 40th Anniversary of the first episode of Wonder Woman, Hallmark is releasing the “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman ornament and it is pretty awesome.
For those unfamiliar with the television series Wonder Woman (reviewed here!), it is a problematically split series. The first season takes place during World War II, while the second and third seasons take a narrative leap up into the mid-1970s and has some trouble credibly redefining itself. All the while, Lynda Carter plays the immortal Amazon princess Diana and her alter-ego super-hero Wonder Woman!
It is Wonder Woman with her bullet-deflecting bracelets raised, standing on a base that is the iconic Wonder Woman W's that is the subject of the “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman ornament.
Basics
The “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman ornament faithfully presents the Lynda Carter version of Wonder Woman, the iconic DC super heroine in her red, white, blue and gold outfit. The facial sculpt is clearly intended to be Lynda Carter and it looks like her in the role of Princess Diana as Wonder Woman. The ornament features Wonder Woman with her fists raised, looking like she is ready to deflect bullets, while her Lasso Of Truth hangs from her right hip.
The ornament, released in 2015, is a decent size, but not flawless. The sculpt looks quite good, but has an assembled quality to it (specifically in the arms where there is a deep, unsightly seam on all the copies of this ornament that I found). The hair is sculpted to look like hair (with texture to it) and it succeeds, despite being big-70's hair that goes up and behind Wonder Woman's iconic tiara. But then, the coloring is terribly simplistic. Measuring four and one-half inches tall by two one-half inches wide and one and three-quarters inches deep, the “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman ornament is one of only three DC super hero-based ornaments released by Hallmark for 2015. “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman came with an original retail price of $17.95 and it is very fairly priced at the original issue price.
The Hallmark “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman ornament is made of durable plastic. Wonder Woman's costume is colored in matte red, white, blue and yellow (not quite the foil gold of the actual costume). She is well-built including some muscle definition in the arms and legs. “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” has Wonder Woman standing on a yellow and brown Wonder Woman symbol, which is familiar to fans of the television series. Hallmark even took the time to make the high heeled boots accurately sculpted!
As for the rest of “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman, she looks like an animated character. Her coloring for the skin tones are monotonal and bland. Her eyes are matte colored and lack the zest for life Carter brought to the role, which admittedly is hard to bring out in something this scale that is so mass-produced. Hallmark did, however, get Carter's bright red lips perfectly colored!
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, the “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman ornament could have a sound and light function, but because there is no iconic light effect for Wonder Woman, Hallmark smartly limited the ornament to a sound clip. When the button on the base is pressed, the ornament plays a sound clip from Wonder Woman. The base is, essentially, a speaker and it plays the opening theme to the television show Wonder Woman, which remains pretty funky even today. The sound is loud enough to be easily heard and the ornament comes with the batteries needed to operate the sound clip.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate super hero Christmas Tree, the “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman ornament is pretty much essential. The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top of Wonder Woman's head. As a result, the ornament, when affixed to a tree with a hook, hangs well balanced from that loop. The loop is fairly obvious, but does not distract from the overall look of the ornament. Hung in this fashion, she looks like she is ready to fight crime!
Collectibility
Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, they have made ornament replicas of almost all major franchises like DC comics, The Wizard Of Oz and Harry Potter. The “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” Wonder Woman ornament was not an exceptional commercial draw its first two weeks, but seems to be a hit or miss seller at the Hallmarks I have visited. As a result, I think it is a fair bet that the ornament will maintain its value, even if it does not become an impressive investment piece.
Overview
Fans of Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter and DC comics characters are likely to be generally happy with the “Lynda Carter As Wonder Woman” ornament, even if it does not match the younger generation's expectation of the version of Wonder Woman currently being marketed by DC and Warner Brothers.
For other DC Universe Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2014 Bane The Dark Knight Rises (Limited Edition)
2014 1989 Batmobile
2014 Defender Of Mankind Superman
2013 Man Of Steel
2013 Descending Upon Gotham City Batman ornament
2012 The Bat The Dark Knight Rises Limited Edition Ornament
2012 Catwoman ornament
2012 "Beware My Power" Green Lantern ornament
2012 The Dark Knight Rises
2011 Batman Takes Flight
2011 Green Lantern
2010 Limited Edition Harley Quinn
2009 Wonder Woman ornament
8/10
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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