Ornament Review: Wild Lion - 2019 Hallmark Release

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun ornament with Pluto playing pretend

Cons: Not really a companion to the Mickey’s Circus ornament

The Bottom Line:

Pluto as lion

Not really companion piece

Still fun overall

Fun Semi-Companion Ornament

For 2019, Hallmark released an ornament inspired by the Mickey Mouse short “Mickey’s Circus.”  As a companion ornament, they released the limited-edition Wild Lion, featuring Pluto.  I couldn’t get one without the other.

Don’t worry, this won’t really mean you have a wild lion on your tree.  Instead, it is Pluto pretending to be a lion.  He’s sitting on a circus stand, and he’s wearing a collar featuring hair sticking out that is supposed to be a mane.  There’s a hand painted sign in front of his that says “Wild Lion,” but with the smile on his face, it’s hard to take that part seriously.

But there’s the thing, this isn’t from the “Mickey’s Circus” short.  I just rewatched it, and Pluto is nowhere to be seen in it.  So it is a fun and cute ornament, but it’s really just that, a fun and cute ornament.  I wish I had rewatched the short earlier and at least bought this ornament knowing what I was really getting.

Having said that, I can picture Mickey and Pluto doing something like this.  Maybe that’s why I fell for this as a real companion piece.  It’s fun to look at, and the details are good.

Since Pluto is on a stand, the ornament has a solid, flat base.  It tips back ever so slightly, but that’s a very minor issue.  You’d need to be watching for it to even notice, especially when you have it surrounded by tree branches.

If you like the ornament and want lion Pluto as a companion to Mickey, by all means get it.  It will be a nice addition to your tree.  But just know that this is not part of the original Mickey short.

For more Mickey Magic, check out the other ornaments in the Mickey's Movie Mousterpieces series.