Ornament Review: Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge - Mickey's Christmas Carol #2 - 2010 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Rich details, the shuffling of the coins

Cons: Tilts to the side

The Bottom Line:

Scrooge counting money

No better beginning pose

Too bad that he tilts

Scrooge McDuck Makes Counting Money Look Like So Much Fun as He Plays Scrooge

I'll admit the first time I heard about Mickey's Christmas Carol, I assumed Mickey was playing the Scrooge role.  Give me a break, I was a kid who didn't even know about Scrooge McDuck.  When I learned about him, it became obvious that he'd play the lead role.  It was almost like he was destined to with that name or something.

Scrooge is the focus of this year's entry in Hallmark's Mickey's Christmas Carol series.  The ornament is simply titled Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge.  But don't let the simple title fool you.  This one has almost as much detail as the first in the seires.

We find Scrooge near the start of the famous story counting money in his counting house.  Scrooge is sitting at his desk, and from some angles, the ornament can look like two blocks of wood.  The desk is a perfect rectangle, and the chair fits up right next to it.  In fact, if you look closely, Scrooge is missing his legs.  Ouch!  The ornament is really made of plastic, but the lines in the desk and chair make it look like it is really made from wood.  And the desk is covered by green felt that really is plush.  I'm a bit disappointed that this desk doesn't have quite the same dusty look that Mickey's did last year, but I bet if I rewatched the cartoon I'd see that Scrooge's desk was nice there as well.

Of course, there is more to the ornament than the furniture.  For example, there's Scrooge himself.  When viewed from the front, you get a great shot of Scrooge counting his money.  There are three stacks of coins on the desk as well as a closed bag.  My favorite detail is that we've caught Scrooge in the midst of shuffling a pile of coins in his hands, something he actually does in the cartoon.  That detail all by itself makes me smile.  Scrooge is dressed in an overcoat and scarf and has glasses perched on his bill.  His head is even leaning to one side as he looks at the coins he is shuffling.

Being a series ornament, you can find a 2 in a Christmas tree on it.  No real surprise, it's under the bottom of the desk along with the copyright information.  It's just raised into the wood, so it's not easy to spot or super annoying if you are just trying to enjoy the ornament.

As no surprise, this ornament sits flat.  Well, it wobbles a little, so all the feet must not be at the same level, but you really would have to be playing with it to notice that.  In fact, it would be easy to set this out with last year's entry in the series and start a Mickey's Christmas Carol display.

Of course, the intended purpose is to hang it on your Christmas tree.  The brass hook to slip a hanger through it located on the very top of Scrooge's head.  It is a bit distracting where it is.  Sadly, the ornament also leans to the left quite a bit.  With how the ornament is sculpted, I'm not quite sure where you could put the hook and have the ornament hang straight, but it's still a bit disappointing.  On the plus side, he is very light weight, so no matter what branch of the tree you put him on, he won't weigh it down much at all.

So Scrooge isn't perfect.  I guess that's because Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge has been redeemed by his ghostly visitors yet.  Maybe later in the series we'll get an ornament that hangs straight.  In the mean time, I know I will be enjoying this one despite the flaw.

Check out the rest of the Mickey's Christmas Carol series

Original Price: $17.95