Ornament Review: Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim - Mickey's Christmas Carol #5 - 2013 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Heartwarming portrait of father and son with great balance

Cons: Hallmark might not give us more of this great series

The Bottom Line:

This one earns a smile

I want series to go on

Hope doesn't end here

Will Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim Really be the End of Hallmark's Mickey’s Christmas Carol Series?

There are so many iconic characters in Dicken’s classic story A Christmas Carol, but it’s hard to top Tiny Tim.  After all, he gets the best known line from the story, “God bless us, every one.”  So Hallmark’s series of ornaments based on Mickey’s Christmas Carol, just had to include the character, and they pared him with his father.

Of course, Bob Cratchit was played in the animated version by Mickey Mouse himself.  So the ornament features Mickey as Bob Cratchit lifting Tiny Tim (aka Morty Fieldmouse) into the air over his head.  Mickey is dressed in a red overcoat just like in the show, and Morty is dressed in purple with a brown cap.  You can even see him carrying his crutch in his left hand.

In the story, Bob obviously loves his sick child Tim, and that is captured here.  The joy and love is shining on their faces as they look at each other.  And a father lifting his son over his head?  It’s something all fathers do with their kids, and both fathers and kids just love it.  It brings a smile to my face just looking at it.

With the angle of the ornament, I wasn't expecting it to really stand up on its own at all.  Surprisingly, it does.  Okay, okay, so Mickey is rocked back on his heels and it it's very stable.  I wouldn't want to leave the ornament like that long term, but for a brief period, say setting it out before hanging it on the tree, it works.

After realizing Bob and Tim would stand on their own, I was expecting the ornament to hang straight.  And I was not disappointed.  The hook it at the top of Tiny Tim's hat, and when you lift the ornament in the air, it doesn't change positions at all.

Being the fifth in the series, you’ll find a 5 in a Christmas tree on the bottom of the ornament.  There are also all kinds of other copyright information down there.

Unfortunately, Hallmark is also billing this as the final in the series.  After just five entries?  They have yet to do Ghost of Christmas Present, Ghost of Christmas Future, Mrs. Cratchit, Belle (Scrooge’s old girlfriend as played by Daisy), and Nephew Fred.  Plus, since Tiny Tim is so instrumental in Scrooge’s transformation, the final ornament really should be Tiny Tim sitting in Scrooge’s lap like at the end of the special.  That's an additional six ornaments minimum, and there are all kinds of other characters they could still do.

Can we get Hallmark to change their mind?  Well, collectors who love this series are campaigning on social media, so join us by contacting Hallmark on Twitter (@HallmarkPR), Facebook, and their own reviews for the ornament here: http://www.hallmark.com/products/general/keepsake-ornaments/bob-cratchit-and-tiny-tim-1795QX9145_DK/.  Plus if you are going to the event in August, ask everyone you can about it.  We might not be able to get an official series going again, but hopefully we can get these and others to add to the collection as an unofficial series.

Okay, now that I have all that out of my system, I can go back to enjoying this ornament.  It’s fun and perfectly captures the love between father and son, in this case Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim.

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

Original Price: $17.95