The Good: Great sculpt, Collectibility, Awesome sound clip
The Bad: Frontheavy, Light on coloring details
The Basics: The first of the Guardians Of The Galaxy ornaments, the Potted Groot is adorable, but not as awesome as one might hope.
When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, arguably the biggest surprise for the merchandisers had to be the success of Guardians Of The Galaxy. A relatively obscure corner of the Marvel Universe, Guardians Of The Galaxy became a blockbuster and most merchandisers had to play catch-up given they did not plan for characters like Groot and Rocket to become coveted by collectors. Hallmark was one such company caught off guard and in the October ornament release, they caught up with the Potted Groot ornament.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, “Potted Groot” is a holiday ornament that features the dancing, twig reincarnation of Groot from the post-credit scene of Guardians Of The Galaxy (reviewed here!). In the post-credit scene, the potted Groot begins rocking out to the Jackson 5 song "I Want You Back" whenever Drax the Destroyer is not looking in his direction. The Potted Groot ornament is made entirely of plastic and is an amazing sculpt, even if the coloring is nowhere near as vibrant as in the promotional materials or the digital reference.
Basics
“Potted Groot” recreates Groot in his Potted form from Guardians Of The Galaxy as he stretches out in a dance pose. The ornament, released in 2015, is a pretty remarkable ornament that is perfect in the detailing, but not its coloring. Potted Groot in this incarnation looks just like the CG version of Potted Groot with the Potted Groot with impressive detailing for the arms, soil and pot, but not the coloring. Measuring four inches tall, two and a half inches wide and two inches deep, this “Potted Groot” seems to be selling exceptionally well, at least at the Hallmark stores I've visited, at the original issue price of $17.95.
The Hallmark “Potted Groot” ornament is made of a durable plastic, which is impressive for the thin arms of the tree alien. He is cast in a simple brown, gray and off-white plastic. The proportions are all wonderful and this Potted Groot sculpt looks like it may have come from a digital model of the character, save on the coloriong front. The “Potted Groot” ornament has no visible seams and the rocks he is rooted in look neat and accurate.
Unfortunately, while the Potted Groot has glossy black eyes and that looks accurate. The pot, soil and brown of groot are all matte finish. The green for the vines and leaves on Potted Groot are not dark, rich or contrasting enough to pop against the brown of Groot's bark skin. Groot's smile is a good sculpted detail that is not matched by any depth of coloring detailing.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, “Potted Groot” could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but it only has a sound clip. Pressing a very noticeable white button in the soil begins playing a thirty second clip of the Jackson 5 song from a speaker embedded in the soil. The sound clip is loud and powered by two watch batteries that are included. The sound clip is an awesome touch that enhances the value of this ornament and is very cool.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake “Potted Groot” ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate superhero Christmas Tree, the “Potted Groot” ornament is very much a "luxury" ornament given how obscure the Guardians Of The Galaxy are to most geeks. That said, it's still pretty neat.
The ornament has a steel hook loop that comes out of the top center of Potted Groot’s head. Unfortunately, from that position, Potted Groot hangs with a noticeable and heavy front biased. This is a frontheavy ornament that looks like Groot is in a pot that is tipping forward.
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 delved into virtually every other collectible franchise in an attempt to cash in on every major license. The Potted Groot series is part of the Marvel Comics ornament collection that has been growing since the buyout of Marvel by Disney. Hallmark seems happy to produce both DC and Marvel Comics-related ornaments and currently fans seem to be responding exceptionally well to the “Potted Groot” ornament. Given how popular the character is it is likely that this ornament will hold its value and probably appreciate in value.
Overview
Despite the frontheavy nature of the ornament and its coloring issues, the Potted Groot ornament is worth the fans tracking down and picking up!
For other Marvel Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2015 Iron Man The Avengers: Age Of Ultron
2015 The Hulk Vs. Ultron The Avengers: Age Of Ultron
2014 War Machine Iron Man 3 ornament
2014 Hulk Smash! ornament
2014 Captain America from Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2014 Web-Slinging Wonder The Amazing Spider-Man 2
2013 Iron Patriot Iron Man 3 ornament
2012 Captain America The Avengers ornament
2012 Iron Man The Avengers ornament
2012 Thor The Avengers ornament
2012 The Amazing Spider-Man ornament
2011 Spider-Man ornament
2011 Thor ornament
2010 Defender Of Justice Iron Man 2 ornament
6.5/10
For other ornament reviews, please check out my Ornament Review Index Page!
© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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