Disney Pin Review: Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar - Decades Collection - 2023 Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Two pins for almost forgotten Disney characters

Cons: None for me

The Bottom Line:

Two rare characters

Honored with a two pin set

For second decade

A Pair of Pins for Mickey and Minnie’s Early Friends

I was still debating about the Decades collection that Disney is releasing to celebrate the company’s 100^th anniversary when the second round came out.  The collection is celebrating the 1930’s.  Naturally, I was expecting things themed around Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  And they released some merchandise for that movie as part of the collection.  But when I saw the pins, I knew I had to get them.

You see, instead of featuring Snow White, they went with something even rarer in Disney history.  They released a two pin set featuring Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar.

Diehard DisNerds like me immediately got excited while everyone else was just scratching their heads, right?  If you don’t know who this duo is, they were early friends of Mickey and Minnie.  Horace actually first appeared as Mickey’s horse before slowly morphing into a more human character while Clarabelle was pretty much an anthropomorphized character for most of her screen time.

Basically, they were the early side kicks before Donald, Daisy, and Goofy came along.  They were used the most in the early 1930’s, making them perfect for this decade in the collection.  And yes, they have popped up at various times over the years, including an effort to bring them back more now, which I love seeing.

Anyway, these pins capture them in their early 1930’s form, including mostly black and white.  The characters have a red circle behind them and some blue highlights.  And they pretty much look like their characters did back then.  The only thing that really stands out is the bell hanging from Clarabelle’s neck.  And I do mean that literally since it is 3D and not a 2D pin element.  There’s even a little dangle in it, so it makes a noise.

With the first pin in the series, I complained about the price.  I don’t feel that is an issue here.  If sold individually, I can easily see these pins going for $14.95, so $29.95 for the two of them seems reasonable to me.  Maybe the pins would be a buck or two cheaper if bought in the parks, but it still seems reasonable.  And maybe I was expecting it this time, and it was just the surprise with the first pin that bothered me.

This is also filling a gap in my pin collection.  I don’t remember ever even seeing Horace and Clarabelle being offered as pins.  So, naturally, I had to snag them.

The result is a two pin set that I’m very happy to own.  Any fans of the classic shorts will also be glad to see Disney honoring Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow.