The Good: Wonderful sculpt, Good balance, Decent coloring details.
The Bad: A little pricy, Shirt coloring.
The Basics: The 2017 Michonne The Walking Dead ornament is a wonderful genre ornament that might finally bring fans of AMC's hit show into the ornament market!
Hallmark has been picking up licenses for new genre ornaments for years, but the truth is their reach has, occasionally, exceeded their grasp. I like ambition and Hallmark certainly is ambitious with its acquisitions. But executing the new series' has not always been successful. For The Walking Dead, Hallmark has had a rocky road. With ornaments for Rick Grimes (reviewed here!) and Daryl Dixon (reviewed here!) being overproduced and underwhelming on the quality fronts, The Walking Dead has not taken off as an ornament franchise for Hallmark.
But, in 2017, Hallmark proves that the third time is a charm with the Michonne ornament from The Walking Dead!
Ever since Michonne burst into the narrative of The Walking Dead in Season Three (reviewed here!), she has been a fan favorite. Michonne arrived with her sword and two Walkers she had neutered for camouflage and captured the interest of the television show viewers and those who had read the source material and were eagerly awaiting her appearance.
It is Michonne, holding her sword in an action pose as if she has just stabbed downward or is blocking an incoming blow, that is the subject of the 2017 Michonne Hallmark ornament.
Basics
The 2017 Michonne ornament recreates Michonne, as played by Danai Gurira, with a great deal of accuracy for both the sculpt and the coloring. The ornament, released in 2017, is a wonderful recreation of the character as she appeared recently in The Walking Dead. Hallmark made the facial sculpt of the ornament is perfect; it is not simply the sword that makes the Michonne ornament appear to be the character - this ornament looks just like the character!
Measuring four and three-quarters inches tall by two inches wide by two and one and a quarter inches deep, the Michonne ornament is the only The Walking Dead ornament released by Hallmark in stores in 2017 and was released at Gold Crown Hallmark stores on Ornament Debut Weekend in October. The Michonne ornament came with an original retail price of $17.95 and, despite the quality of the ornament, that price seemed a bit steep for an ornament that did not have a sound or light function to it.
The Hallmark Michonne ornament is made of durable plastic. Michonne’s costume is simple, basically a black, sleeveless, t-shirt and leather pants, but she is accurately detailed. Michonne is holding the sword in a defensive position and Hallmark paid attention to details like the lacing on the sword's hilt.
The coloring on the Michonne ornament is pretty wonderful. Michonne's skin tones are beautifully rendered in a chocolate brown plastic and paint job that pops against the gray of her sword and the coloring of her dreads, which have realistic depth and shading to them. Michonne's pants and boots are colored to appear somewhat weathered, which makes sense given the very dirty world of The Walking Dead. In fact, the only coloring detail that is a little off is Michonne's shirt; the contrast between the shirt and skin is not significant enough to make the garment pop and that does not looks as good as it could, especially in low lighting.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, Michonne could have a sound chip. Given how many good lines Michonne has in The Walking Dead, it is surprising that Hallmark opted against doing a sound clip for the ornament. But, Michonne with her sword is more than enough to carry the ornament!
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Michonne ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. For those creating the ultimate pop culture Christmas Tree, the Michonne ornament is an incredibly good addition. The ornament has a steel hook loop embedded into the top of Michonne's head and from there, the ornament hangs perfectly balanced!
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 Michonne ornament has not yet sold out at any Hallmark's I've found, but it is the first The Walking Dead ornament that deserves to sell out prior to the holidays! One suspects that the more fans who come across this ornament and see its quality, the faster it will sell!
Overview
Fans of Michonne, Danai Gurira, and The Walking Dead might balk at the initial release price of the 2017 Michonne ornament, but it is hard not to figure that the quality of the ornament will justify the price to most fans!
For other genre-themed character Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2017 Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Commander Data Star Trek: The Next Generation ornament
2017 Thor Thor: Ragnarok ornament
2017 Rey Star Wars: The Last Jedi ornament
8.5/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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