Ornament Review: Magician Mickey - Mickey's Movie Mousterpieces #1 - 2012 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great sculpt captures Mickey in action; ties to old short

Cons: None for this DisNerd

The Bottom Line: 

Mickey in spotlight

With historic movie short

Disney fans will love

Magical Start to a Mickey Ornament Series

While Mickey is far from a stranger to Hallmark's ornament line, he is the focus of one of 2012's new ornament series.  Mickey's Movie Mousterpieces will focus on Mickey in one of his shorts from his long career.  The series kicks off with Magician Mickey, and it's a winner.

The short itself, also called "Magician Mickey" came out in 1937 and features Mickey on stage trying to do a magic act.  Things are going well, but Donald is on the side as a heckler, and the two wind up going at it, with Mickey magically getting the upper hand until Donald literally brings down the house at the end.  The most memorable image from the short is Donald coughing up a deck of cards, but this focuses on Mickey, so that's not what we get here.

This ornament is based on a moment from early in the short as Mickey has just taken the stage and is about to do a first magic trick, pulling a table out of his hat.  (A rabbit is just so cliché.)  Mickey is wearing a tux over his usual red shorts and yellow shoes.  On top of that, he's wearing a long black cape with a green inside.  In his right hand, he's holding his hat upside down, and he's tapping it with the wand in his left hand.

It really is that simple as an ornament, but I think it looks sharp.  The green underside of the cape adds some color and looks stunning.  It's just a fun ornament overall, especially for fans of Disney.  And as one of those, it's nice to see some ornaments based on the classic shorts.  They seem to be so forgotten by so many these days.

Despite the fact that Mickey is leaning back a bit and not centered over his feet, the ornament does stand up on its own.  The secret is the cape, which is long enough to sit on the ground and provide the needed balance.

What's interesting is that when you slip a hanger through the loop on the top of Mickey's head, the ornament tips forward slightly, yet Mickey still looks like he's hanging straight.  It's all because he's leaning back so far when he is standing on his feet that he still looks good when he's hanging.  It's rare that an ornament can tip slightly and still look good, but this one pulls it off.  Both standing and hanging, Mickey looks natural and believable in the position he's in.

On the bottom of Mickey's feet, you'll find a couple of things.  His left foot has the copyright information and the 1 in a Christmas tree signifying that this is the first in a new series.  His right foot has the name of the short and the year of its release.  I like that added bit since it ties so directly to the short just like the series.  All this writing is just raised letters, so you won't really notice when the ornament is hanging on your tree.

I don't really need more Mickey on my tree, but I love the idea behind this series.  Disney's past seems to be getting sidelined these days, so I love seeing this tribute to the old days.  And the first ornament is so charming on it's own, I would have been tempted to get it even if it weren't a series.

So I highly recommend Magician Mickey.  Here's hoping that it is the start of a long running Mickey's Movie Mousterpieces series.

Check out the rest of the Mickey's Movie Mousterpieces series.

Original Price: $12.95