The Good: Good sculpted details, Accurate, albeit lightly detailed, coloring
The Bad: No feature, Frontheavy
The Basics: The 2017 "Skeletor" ornament continues well Hallmark's growing He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe ornament line with a decent depiction of the show's primary villain!
One of the exciting aspects of a good new franchise getting ornament treatment from Hallmark is that it encourages more excitement. After last year's generally decent He-Man ornament reviewed here!), for 2017 Hallmark released an ornament of Skeletor, the primary antagonist of He-Man and his friends. The thing is, Skeletor is so well done that now I'm psyched to see who might come next - Teela, Man-At-Arms, Beastman . . . will there be a Limited Edition Merman or Sorceress?! (hint, hint, Hallmark!). Skeletor is a distinctive and cool ornament for anyone who loves He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe!
For those unfamiliar with He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe (season 1 is reviewed here!), Skeletor is a fallen sorcerer who seeks power and dominance over the citizens of Eternia. Skeletor tries a ton of schemes against the royal family of Eternia, usually by giving orders to his hapless henchmen, who are then thwarted by He-Man and his friends.
Basics
The "Skeletor" ornament recreates the villainous Skeletor as he appeared in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, though not in any particular or iconic moment. The ornament, released in 2017, is an incredibly accurate sculpt of Skeletor with an incredible amount of sculpted and pretty basic coloring detail, befitting the action figure/1980s cartoon source materials. Hallmark smartly presented Skeletor in a somewhat threatening pose with his ram's head staff before him, as if he is issuing an evil proclamation or casting a spell.
Measuring four and a half inches tall by two and one-half inches wide by three inches deep, the "Skeletor" ornament is a fairly regular-sized Hallmark character ornament. The 2017 Skeletor ornament seems a little pricey at an original release price of $17.95, which seemed expensive for an ornament without any feature, but was on par with last year's He-Man ornament.
The Hallmark "Skeletor" ornament is made of a durable plastic and has Skeletor holding his ram's head staff with it leaning forward at an angle. The ornament is posed in a such a way that one has to suspect that the sculptor was a fan of the action figure line; the Skeletor action figure, like many from the Masters Of The Universe toy line, was unbalanced, so it was common for kids to use the staff as a way to keep Skeletor standing upright! Skeletor is appropriately muscled and is wearing his very minimal clothes - the breastplate, boots and armored skirt distinctive to his character. Hallmark sculpted perfectly Skeletor's hood, which houses his skull head. Skeletor is well-muscled and the detailing on his armor and staff is quite good.
The coloring for the 2017 Skeletor ornament is simplistic, but accurate for the action figure source material. Skeletor's face is even painted with a glossy yellow sheen that looks just like the rubbery head of the original figure!
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "Skeletor" could be accented by a sound chip, but is not. Sadly lacking in any dialogue from the show, the 2017 Skeletor ornament does not have a sound or light function, which is a little disappointing.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Skeletor" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate nostalgia television Christmas Tree, the "Skeletor" ornament is one of the essential He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe ornament. The ornament has the standard steel hook loop embedded into the top center of Skeletor's hooded head. This is fairly obvious and necessary for the ornament. From that position, the Skeletor ornament hangs with an unfortunate and obvious front bias. The placement of Skeletor's staff, apparently, throws the ornament's balance off and it looks like Skeletor is leaning forward, as opposed to hanging level. This is not the worst-ever balance on an Hallmark ornament, but it's not great - my solution was to hang Skeletor from a higher branch, so he'd look down upon people!
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. "Skeletor" is one of a handful of several nostalgia television show ornaments and the only He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe ornament produced by Hallmark for 2017. This ornament did not yet sell out at any of my local Hallmark Gold Crown stores I frequented. If that holds, it might be easy to find on discount after the holiday season. Given the overall quality of the ornament, though, I would bet on it appreciating in value!
Overview
Fans of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Skeletor, and Hallmark ornaments are likely to forgive the ornament's balance issue and initial price and get very excited about the quality of the villainous character! It is definitely work adding to the collection of anyone who loved the show or toy line and wants the nostalgia of it around the holidays!
For other 2017 genre-themed Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
Michonne The Walking Dead ornament
Lock, Shock, and Barrel The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
First Order Stormtrooper FN-2199 Star Wars: The Force Awakens ornament
9/10
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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