Ornament Review: The Adventure Begins - 2007 Hallmark Star Wars Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Looks great with the added benefit of light and sound

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: 

It looks great alone

But light and sound make this great

Ornament perfect.

The Best Way to Celebrate 30 Years of Star Wars

2007 marked the 30th anniversary for Star Wars: A New Hope, the first film in what has become a huge franchise.  So much of it is now part of our pop culture that even those who haven't seen it know who the basic characters are.  Hallmark has had the license to create ornament based on the series for a while now, and they marked this occasion with The Adventure Begins.  This is an ornament no fan of the series will be able to resist.

The ornament is a little on the large size because it depicts the Millennium Falcon taking off from the planet Tatooine.  Naturally, that means we've got the space ship.  It's off to one side of the ornament and tipping to the left like it's banking for a turn.  Underneath it is the city.  We've got several buildings sticking up that look just like the buildings in the movie.  The ornament is mainly tan since Tatooine is a desert planet.  The exception, of course, is the Millennium Falcon, which is gray.  Speaking of the ship, it's got detail and ridges just like the ship in the movie does.

Now, it would be cool enough just looking at it, but this is what Hallmark calls a Magic ornament.  When you install three button type batteries in the base and press the button on the side of the ornament, you get lights and sound.  The back of the ship lights up blue, and John Williams' amazing theme song plays for about 30 seconds.  Honestly, how cool is that?

This does, however, give us a slight problem in hanging the ornament.  You've got to be sure the side is facing away from the tree so you can see the details of the city as well as the light on the back of the ship.  That's a small price to pay, however.

Hanging the ornament isn't that difficult since it is surprisingly light for it's size.  It won't hang well on the top, lighter branches, but anywhere from half way down the tree on should be fine.  There's a small brass hook like Hallmark always using in the Millennium Falcon, pretty much dead center in the ornament.  That's why it's no surprise to say that if the ornament doesn't hang straight, you'll never notice.

If you decided to display this ornament somewhere other than a Christmas tree, you'll be glad to know it rests flat on four little knobs that stick down from the base of the ornament in order to allow you to hear the music.

This ornament was originally very pricey at $32.  Fortunately, the value has actually come down in the secondary market; I picked mine up for around $20.

And it was worth the price I paid.  My roommates think some of my ornaments are a bit cheesy, but they were impressed with this one.  The Adventure Begins looks great all alone, but the sound and the lights make it out of this galaxy.

Original Price: $32.00