Ornament Review: School Time for Chipmunks! - A Year of Disney Magic #2 - 2014 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun scene with great attention to detail

Cons: None

The Bottom Line:

Heading back to school

Differing emotions for

These two cute chipmunks

Chip ‘n’ Dale Show Differing Reactions to the First Day of School

When it comes to the first day of school, there are two distinct camps. Some kids are excited to start a new year of learning.  Most of the kids, however, are sad to see the freedom and sleeping in of summer end.  (And yes, I was part of both camps at various times over the years.)  Both reactions are captured in School Time For Chipmunks!, the second in Hallmark's A Year of Disney Magic series.

As you can guess from the title, this ornament features Chip 'n' Dale, the only ornament in the series to do so.   Chip is leading the way, and he's looking straight ahead, wearing a green backpack, and has a huge smile on his face, obviously quite excited to get back to learning.  Dale is following along behind him wearing a blue backpack, but his red nose is looking down and his arms are hanging at his side.  He's obviously not at all happy to be up and awake already, much less dealing with school.  Centered behind them at the edge of the sidewalk is a yellow "School Zone" sign.

And that sign's placement is the key to the ornament hanging level.  The little brass ring is sticking out from the front of the sign, and it is at the perfect center because this thing is level front to back and side to side.  It is also turned perfectly to face the room if you are displaying the series in the optional Mickey's Head ornament stand that Hallmark sold separately.

Because Chip 'n' Dale are walking on a sidewalk, the base of this ornament is also flat, meaning you can set this out to display anywhere you want in September as you decorate for back to school.  You'll also find the 2 in a Christmas tree on the bottom, denoting it's place as the second in the series.

At first glance, this ornament seems smaller than the others in the series, but that's appropriate since Chip 'n' Dale are smaller than the rest of the Disney gang.  However, when you actually start looking, you'll see the size is in proportion to the others in the series.  After all, we've got two characters (the rest feature just one) and the sign.

Plus we can't fault the detail.  You can see expressions on both Chip and Dale's faces.  Not only that, but you can see the texture and cracks in the sidewalk.  That's the attention to detail I love so much.

I can't help but compare to last year's Peanuts back toschool ornament.  It was actually my least favorite in the series since it was essentially just Lucy and a backpack.  This one is so much better because of the contrasting expressions on the characters and the attention to detail I just mentioned.  In fact, it might wind up being one of my favorites in the series.

Whether you are heading back to school now or if those years are long behind you, School Time For Chipmunks! is an ornament you'll be able to appreciate.  I'm thrilled to add it to my collection.

What could be more magical than the entire Year of Disney Magic?

Original Price: $12.95