Ornament Review: Yo, Rugman! - 2015 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Genie as an ornament is magical

Cons: Seam; voice doesn’t sound quite right to me

The Bottom Line:

Genie bursts on tree

Captured with some classic lines

DisNerds will rejoice

You’ll Have a Friend in This Ornament

I don’t know that anybody would argue with the fact that the real star of Disney’s Aladdin was Robin Williams’s Genie.  His impersonations, jokes, and quips completely make the film, and the movie has a whole new world of energy when he finally comes into the story.  Genie gets his own ornament in Hallmark’s Yo, Rugman!, and any fan of the movie will want it.

Despite the name, this ornament just features Genie.  He’s curling up out of his lamp, which is attached to a bit of ground that makes up the base of the ornament.  Genie has been captured mid gesture, and it’s actually fairly easy to picture him making some point to Aladdin while they are still in the Cave of Wonders.

The animated character is captured perfectly here, but Hallmark didn’t stop with his looks.  This is one of their magic ornaments, so they’ve added sound clips from the movie.  I half expected them to include a clip from “Friend Like Me,” but they went with a few of his lines, instead.  We get a total of four different lines, just keep pressing the button to hear all of them.  Naturally, the ornament requires button batteries, and your first set of two is included for you.

Hallmark often has issues with sound clips in ornaments.  Sometimes, they don’t have the license to use the real voices, disappointing the fans.  In this case, I can’t quite decide if they used Robin Williams’s actual vocals or a very good impersonator.  Of course, Robin Williams had the famous clause in his contract that Disney couldn’t use his voice outside the movie, so it is likely this isn’t him.  I think what throws me off the most is we just get the lines without any of the background sounds or music I normally associate with them.  Other fans swear it is the real vocals.  Either way, it is an overall minor issue.

I’ve noticed recently that some Disney ornaments seem a little too big to me.  That’s almost the case here, although Genie gets so big at times it’s easy to picture him growing to this size.  The bigger issue with the ornament is the noticeable seams.  We get one at the base and one of his left arm.  It’s a shame that a great ornament has these issues.

Because Genie is attached to some dirt, we actually do have a base we can use to set this ornament out to be displayed year round.  It’s a fun ornament with no real ties to Christmas, so that’s a great option.

Of course, there is a loop for hanging him on your tree.  You’ll find he tips forward some, although you can easily counteract that with some well-placed branches.

Potential voice issues aside, Yo, Rugman! is a fun ornament that any Disney fan will love having in their collection.

Original Price: $17.95