Ornament Review: Once Upon a Time - 2010 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Belle.  And a book.

Cons: It's Belle with a book.  How could there be any cons?

The Bottom Line: 

With Belle and a book

You will never miss the mark

A great ornament

Belle and a Book Go Together Like Merry and Christmas

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that Belle is my favorite Disney princess.  With as much as she loves to read, how could I not love her?  That's why I had to get this year's Beauty and the Beast Hallmark ornament offering, Once Upon a Time.

The ornament features Belle in her yellow dress.  She's looking over her right shoulder and holding a red flower in her hands.  She is standing in front of a giant book that's almost as tall as she is.  The book has a burgundy cover and gold tinted pages.  On the left hand side it says "Once upon a time," and on the right hand side is a castle that looks a little bit like the Beast's castle from the movie.  If you turn the ornament around, you'll see that the over says Beauty and the Beast in the font Disney uses for this movie.

Aesthetically, the yellow, gold, and burgundy work well together.  This is a very pleasing ornament to look at.  However, the idea of Belle standing in front of a book with her story in it is just too much for this reading fan of the movie to pass up.  Yes, it would be nice to have some of the other characters, but it works without them.  As long as we're talking minor quibbles, the book is obviously open to the middle, but it is also obvious starting the story.  But only a book person would even point that out.

Because Belle is on a base in front of the open book, the ornament actually stands up pretty well when set down.  But it just cries out to be hung on a tree.  The hook is actually hidden on Belle's left shoulder; you can't see it behind her head.  The ornament tips back slightly, but I think that actually works well for it because it actually shows off what on the book a little better that way.  You probably will want it in the middle of your tree as a result, but it actually looks quite nice.

As soon as I saw a picture of this ornament, I knew there was no way I could pass it up.  Fortunately, Once Upon a Time lives up to my expectations in every way.

Original Price: $14.95