Ornament Review: Beaker's Ode to Joy - 2011 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun sound and motion

Cons: Looks plain

The Bottom Line:

Ornament looks plain

But the music and sound make

Fun decoration

Beaker "Meeps" His Way Through a Classic Music Piece 

While Hallmark has many official series, they also have several unofficial series.  These are ornaments released around a theme each year but they don't officially call them a series.  One such series is based around the secondary characters from The Muppet Show.  2011 saw another entry in the series with the release of Beaker's "Ode to Joy."  It's a bit plan but plenty of fun.

Beaker is the hapless assistant of Dr. Honeydew in the Muppet Labs segment of the show.  Beaker's job is to demonstrate whatever the doctor's latest harebrained invention is.  Of course, the invention always has a horrible flaw, and Beaker gets the full effect of this flaw.  He also only speaks in "Meeps."

This ornament features Beaker standing next to a table with a blueish white table cloth on it.  The only thing on the table is a metronome.  The base of the ornament is a brown floor, and the base is flat so you can set the ornament out year round if you want.

Beaker himself looks very good.  He's dressed in a lab coat and sneakers.  His eyes are bugging out a little, and he's got a shock of red hair.  Basically, he looks just like he does on the show.

If it were just about looks, however, I'd probably pass on the ornament.  The ornament is rather plain color wise being basically an off white/light blue in color except for the floor.  It's not much to look at.

However, this unofficial series is a "Magic" series, a term Hallmark uses for their ornaments that feature sound, motion, light, or some combination of those features.  In this case, it's a combo of sound and motion.  There's a prominent button on the front of the table, and when you press it, you hear Beaker "sing" "Ode to Joy."  In reality, he "Meeps" the whole thing.  It's more than just his voice, however.  About half way through, you get some harmonies, and the whole way through there's percussion that sounds like various lab items or concoctions.  It's pretty entertaining.  Meanwhile, Beaker's mouth opens and closes, and the arm on the metronome move to keep time to the music.  It's very fun to watch.  All this required 3 AAA batteries, which are not included when you buy the ornament.

Beaker has a hook for hanging the ornament at the top of his head.  The ornament might tip slightly to one corner, but I'm having a hard time telling for sure.  I take that to mean that it's pretty much straight.

The ornament is heavier than it looks, probably because of the mechanisms required for the movement.  You'll want to be sure to hang it on a sturdy branch.

Despite the simple design, Beaker's "Ode to Joy" is a fun ornament that fans of The Muppet Show will be delighted to hang on their tree.

Original Price: $19.95