The Good: Good sculpt, Vivid coloring, Good balance
The Bad: Seems expensive, Inconsistent paint jobs
The Basics: The 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie is a decent ornament that is arguably Hallmark's best Barbie since it returned last year!
Last year, Hallmark Keepsake picked the license for producing Barbie ornaments and the return to the marketplace involved a lot of catch-up. 2016 allowed Hallmark to start producing some truly new ornaments and with the 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament, they prove that quality does not necessarily come from quantity. The 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament is an obscure choice for an ornament, but Hallmark makes it (generally) work. For my review, I picked up one and looked at four other copies of the ornament, which made me realize that the execution of the 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament is an inconsistently rendered ornament.
For those unfamiliar with them, Barbie dolls have been a leading trademarked doll (and model for female bodytypes pretty much guaranteed to result in back pain late in life) from Mattel for over seventy years. Hallmark Keepsake picked up the Barbie license in order to produce Christmas ornaments and Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie was one of several Barbie Hallmark ornaments released in 2016.
Basics
The Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament recreates the Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie doll that appears to have been based on a Wisconsin Cherry Festival Barbie doll. The ornament features the recognizable visage of Barbie with her blonde hair in pigtails and giant blue eyes. This Barbie is has the blonde pigtails with a slight upward curl at the bottoms flipped out to the side and bright red lipstick which is pretty iconic for the doll's head. The ornament has Barbie wearing blue jeans and a white shirt with little red and green cherries painted on it.
The Hallmark Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament is made of a durable plastic and has the feminine icon standing alone, not even holding a pie for the alleged picnic! The 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament is 4 1/4" tall, 1 1/8" wide and 1" deep and is incredibly well-sculpted. Barbie's hair is very detailed and includes a decent sculpt of aspects like the shirt collar and the belt. The 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie is wearing high heels and the sculpted detailing for the folded-up cuffs on the jeans is well-executed.
The paint job on the 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament is inconsistent, which is unfortunate. The cherries on Barbie's shirt are immaculately detailed and was pretty impressive for any Hallmark ornament. Oddly, though, when I looked over other copies of the same ornament, the paint job was nowhere near as consistent on the ornaments other painted aspects. The belt buckle and the bright red fingernails on the 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament were rendered far sloppier than the cherries on the shirt.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. This is just an ornament, a comparatively low-cost option for fans of Barbie. I think it's disappointing that Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie does not have any articulation to her limbs or have her actually holding a cherry pie. It was well within the abilities of Hallmark to make the ornament articulated at least at the shoulders or neck, but they opted for a boring statue look for the ornament and that disappoints some, though it is consistent with prior Barbie ornaments.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Barbie Christmas Tree, the Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament is a good addition to the line. The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top center of the character's head. From there, one hangs the ornament and this Barbie ornament is well balanced! Unlike the doll itself, which is almost impossible to get to stand up, the Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament has great balance and hangs very stable!
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 branched out into every major franchise from Barbie to Gone With The Wind to Twilight. The Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament sold fairly well at my local Hallmark stores since Preview Weekend, but I suspect that its value will be shaky; those who get the sloppy paint jobs will blow out the ornament cheap, those who get the immaculately painted 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornaments will have cause to sell theirs at higher prices than the original release price.
Overview
Fans of Barbie will want the 2016 Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie ornament, but this is definitely an ornament fans should check out by unboxing to be sure they get one with the paint job that justifies its price.
For other Barbie ornament reviews, please check out:
2015 Celebration Barbie (Black)
2015 Barbie Celebration Set (2013/2014 Celebration Barbie)
2012 Barbie Provencale
2012 Brava, Ballerina! Barbie
2012 Holiday Celebration Barbie (Black)
2012 Holiday Celebration Barbie (Caucasian)
2012 Matinee Fashion Barbie - Final In The Series!
2012 Tweed Indeed Barbie
2011 Celebration Barbie (Black)
2011 Campus Sweetheart Barbie
2011 Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament
1996 Enchanted Evening Barbie ornament
1995 Barbie Debut (Brunette) - Club Exclusive
1994 Barbie Debut ornament
8/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my Toy And Ornaments Review Page for an organized listing!
© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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