Ornament Review: High-Flying Hero - 2014 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great sculpt catches this hero in action

Cons: None

The Bottom Line:

Rocketeer takes off

And flies to your Christmas tree

Fans will love this one

The Rocketeer Flies on to Your Christmas Tree

It’s been years since I watched Disney’s The Rocketeer.  (It’s been so long the copy I own is on VHS.)  My memories of the film are dim, but I remember enjoying it.  That’s why I picked up Hallmark’s High-Flying Hero, an ornament based on this character.

Not one of the more popular live action films from the 1990’s, it was set in the 1930’s and featured a young man who finds a rocket pack and winds up using it to defeat Nazi’s in Hollywood during the period.  Pure escapist fun, or at least that’s what I recall.  It was based on a lesser known comic book character and definitely has that superhero feel to it.

The ornament just features Cliff in his outfit at the Rocketeer.  He’s got tan pants and an orange/brown jacket on and is wearing a helmet, so you can’t really see his face.  His jet pack is on his back with flames coming out of them, and he’s semi-prone because he’s flying off to save the day.

Now, even though I’m not a diehard fan of the movie, seeing and buying this ornament still made me smile.  It looks just like my memory of the character, so they did a great job with the sculpt.  And it is nice to see them doing something with a relatively unknown character.  I must not be the only one because this was a limited edition ornament, and it flew off the shelves.

Since The Rocketeer is flying here, you really have to hang this ornament to display it.  Not surprising if you look at the ornament, the ring is sticking out of the jet pack.  He looks like he's tipping slightly to one side, but I guess that just means he's turning.  And he hangs at an angle that makes him look like he is rising into the air, a detail I love.

It’s nice to see Hallmark taking a chance with a popular but lesser known character.  Based on how popular High-Flying Hero has been, I hope they’ll do more such characters, limited edition or regular line.

Original Price: $14.95

Since The Rocketeer originated in comic books, it's part of the 2014 Funny Pages Write-Off.