Ornament Review: When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth - Jurassic Park - 2019 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Captures a classic look from a classic movie

Cons: All cons eaten by dinosaurs

The Bottom Line:

Iconic moment

In pop culture ornament

Sure to delight fans

When Dinosaurs Ruled Your Tree

I often describe my Christmas ornament collection as eclectic.  While I review Hallmark ornaments, I have a lot of ornaments I’ve collected as souvenirs over the years.  And my Hallmark ornaments include quite a few pop culture ornaments.  My collection is taking another eclectic step with this year’s When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth: Jurassic Park ornament.

This ornament captures our last look at the Tyrannosaurus Rex from the first movie.  She is standing and giving a mighty roar as the “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” banner falls in front of her.  The T-Rex is standing on a gray circle, and on the sides of that, you can see cracks in the rock and the bones that are buried in the rock waiting to be discovered.

I didn’t know I needed a Jurassic Park ornament in my collection until I saw this one, but I immediately knew I had to get one.  The movie is a lot of fun, and it was a part of my college years, so there is that nostalgia factor for me.  And this ornament captures such an iconic moment from the movie perfectly.  Yes, it has been used all over the place for years, but it is nice to see it pop up here again for my tree.

If you are familiar with Hallmark ornaments, then the fact that it has a nice round base might make you a little suspicious that this is a magic ornament.  And you’d be right.  The ornament requires two button batteries, which go in the bottom of the base.  The button is located underneath the T-Rex’s tail, so press it if you dare.  When you do, you’ll hear about 25 seconds of John William’s iconic main theme for the movie.

The round base is there because it is needed for the magic, but it has an added bonus – it allows us to set this ornament out to be displayed year round.  Since there is nothing remotely Christmassy about the ornament (or movie), you can enjoy it any time if you so desire.

But, if you want to hang it on your tree, you’ll find that the loop on the T-Rex’s back.  It tips slightly to the left, but you can disguise that with some tree branches.

Jurassic Park is such an iconic part of American culture, I’m not surprised that Hallmark chose to make an ornament inspired by it.  I’m thrilled they did and that I could add it to my collection.