Sunday, June 23, 2013

Ornament Review: A Bright Beginning - 2011 Limited Edition Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Great ornament for Pixar fans
Cons: Nothing, really
The Bottom Line
This ornament is
Animation history
For your Christmas tree




It All Started with This Lamp

Walt Disney is famous for say, "It all started with a mouse."  Well, for Pixar, you might say "It all started with a lamp" since their first computer animated short was Luxo Jr., a film about a lamp playing with a ball.  Much like Mickey, that lamp has become a corporate symbol for Pixar.  And now Hallmark has commemorated it with the limited edition ornament A Bright Beginning.

Just like the short was simple, this ornament is fairly simple.  It consists of a small desk lamp and a ball.  The lamp is one of these desk lamps that you can bend all around into the perfect spot for whatever you need.  The ball is mostly yellow with a red star on two "sides" and a blue stripe down the middle.

As cool as it would be, the light bulb in the lamp doesn't light up.  However, it does have pearlescent paint on it, so it does reflect the light a little bit.

Let's review.  The lamp is sitting on the ball.  The ball is round.  I bet you can't guess how well this one stands up on its own.  That's right, it doesn't.  You can lay it down so that it won't roll away before you put it on your Christmas tree, but this isn't one you'll be able to display any way than on your tree.

The good news is when you slip a hook through the ring on the back of the lamp, it hangs straight.  It would look nicer if the top of the lamp weren't facing down toward the ball as much, but that's a minor complaint.

I'm not sure if this was intended as a compliment to the Disney/Pixar legends series that Hallmark started this year, but it certainly works that way.  Either way, I'm enough of a Pixar fanatic that I am thrilled to be able to get it.  It captures an iconic image that launch a great company.  In fact, I'm surprised that this limited edition ornament didn't sell out faster considering how many fans Pixar has.  Maybe I am geekier than I realized.  Either way, snatch this one up quickly because it does appear to be going from the stores in my area.

Pixar fans will be thrilled to get A Bright Beginning.  This ornament captures a defining moment from the history of this great company perfectly.

Original Price: $12.95

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