Ornament Review: Lucy and the Wardrobe - 2006 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Iconic moment captured for your tree

Cons: A few details, but they are minor

The Bottom Line: 

A famous moment

Narnia fans will love it

And brilliantly done

Lucy Steps into the Wardrobe and Finds Narnia

I fell in love with Narnia when I read the books as a kid, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe continues to be my favorite.  That's why, when I learned about Lucy and the Wardrobe, I had to get this Christmas ornament.

Originally released by Hallmark in 2006, it captures the moment just before Lucy first finds Narnia.  It's a two sided ornament.  One half features a wardrobe sitting in a spare room.  The door is open, and we see Lucy's back as she is about to step into it.  If you get the angle just right, you can even see the coats Lucy has pushed aside before she enters.

The other side features Narnia.  Sitting on a big mound of snow are two evergreen trees covered in snow.  In between them is the lamp post.  There are even some footprints in the snow around the lamp post.  Mr. Tumnus perhaps?

As is always the case with these ornaments, the details are wonderful.  You can see the boards in the floor of the spare room.  This ornament was released the year after the movie version came out, and you can see the carvings on the wardrobe that were on the wardrobe in the movie.  They aren't incredibly detailed, but if you've seen the movie you know what they are.  I especially love the coats in the wardrobe.  They are pretty hard to spot unless you are really looking for them, but they are the perfect touch.

The ornament isn't completely perfect.  The Narnia side of the doorframe is covered in greenery.  I'm sure it's supposed to represent trees.  It kind of looks like mountains, however.  Lucy's face is also a problem.  If they were trying to capture Georgie Henley, the actress who plays Lucy, they failed.  It's still a nice face, and it's probably the hardest detail to see since you have to look past the lamp post and through the wardrobe to actually see it.

With a nice, flat base, it's not surprise the ornament sits flat.  Fortunately, the ornament also hangs straight.  There's a little brass hook on the Narnia side of the wardrobe frame.  Okay, so it tilts slightly to one side, but it's not enough that you'd ever notice.

The only problem real problem I have with the ornament is which side to display out.  The wardrobe side is rather plain, but the Narnia side is only special because of the wardrobe.  I find myself aiming to display this one with the side out so that you can see both.

I never would have come up with a way to capture this moment on an ornament, so the fact that Hallmark did it so perfectly thrills me.  Every Narnia fan will want to get Lucy and the Wardrobe.