Ornament Review: 1928 - Steamboat Willie Premieres - Moments That Made Disney #2 - 2014 Disney Store Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Shades of gray make this a great remembrance of Steamboat Willie

Cons: Pose could be more memorably tied to the cartoon.

The Bottom Line:

Mickey Mouse starts here

And Disney’s career took off

A fun remembrance

A True Moment that Made Disney – I Just Wish the Ornament Were a Little Better

Any Disney fan will point to a few key moments in the life of Walt Disney and the Walt Disney Company as true moments that made his career.  While they might argue about some, others are obvious.  One of those was the 1928 debut of Steamboat Willie which launched the career of Mickey Mouse.  While not the first Disney character or cartoon, the use of sound blew everything else at the time away.  That pivotal animated short is commemorated in 1928 – Steamboat Willie Premieres, the second ornament in the Moments that Made Disney ornament series from The Disney Store.

The ornament features Mickey Mouse, which isn’t a big surprise.  He’s standing and waving with a big smile on his face.  While not quite as dated as he actually looked in that short, he’s definitely not the Mickey of today, either.  It’s a modern dated Mickey look, and I like it.  I also like the fact that his color is purely black and off-white, just like the original short.  Again, it’s the perfect touch to commemorate this huge moment in Disney’s life.

However, I do have a complaint about the ornament.  I’ve seen other ornaments inspired by Steamboat Willie that actually captured Mickey in a moment from the short – something more iconic than this one anyway.  At the least, he should have been holding the boat’s wheel like he is as the short begins.  He is still wearing his hat from the short, but this would have better tied the ornament to this short.  In many ways, this pose is a little generic.

Mickey is standing on a gray circular base with 1928 written across the front.  It allows you to display him year round if you so desire.  After all, there is little that makes this a truly Christmas ornament.

Like most Disney Store ornaments, this one comes with a red ribbon lopped through the hook at the top of Mickey’s head, the only color in the ornament.  Mickey actually tips back ever so slightly when you go to hang him, but by the time you put a few tree branches around him, you’ll never notice.

Ornaments from The Disney Store tend to be a little larger and heavier than your average ornament.  Just keep that in mind when you are selecting the branch to place this ornament on your tree.

My complaint about this ornament are really just a DisNerd complaints.  1928 – Steamboat Willie Premieres is a nice ornament and does a great job of commemorating one of the biggest moments that made Disney’s career.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Moments that Made Disney series.

Original Price: $19.95