Ornament Review: Lil' Mater - 2022 Hallmark Release

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Mater looks mostly good as a miniature ornament

Cons: What’s with how weird his wrench looks?

The Bottom Line:

A mini Mater

One element that looks weird

Overall, it’s good

Call Mater for All Your Lil’ Towing Needs

Hallmark seems to be releasing miniature pop culture ornaments in pairs.  I guess they don’t want these characters to get lonely.  2022 saw them release a miniature version of Lightning McQueen, so, naturally, they also shrunk his best friend, giving us Lil’ Mater.

And fan of Pixar’s Cars movies will immediately recognize this ornament.  He may not be much longer than an inch, but we’ve got the iconic the tow truck with the missing hood and a couple of buck teeth.  He looks a little more tan and a little less rust, but that’s a minor issue.

The larger issue for me is his wrench.  For some reason, they decided to have it flying up over his top and out in front of him like he’s about to snag a car that needs help.  It makes him look weird from the front.  I think the ornament would have been stronger without that.  You know, the way he typically looks in the movie.

Unlike some Hallmark ornaments, Mater’s wheels don’t spin.  However, they are level, so you can display him on a flat surface.  When you go to hang him, you’ll find he tips forward slightly, but nothing too bad.

I’m going to mention again this is a miniature ornament.  As long as you are expecting that when you get him, you’ll be fine.  Considering the size, the detail is pretty impressive.  Also, keep the size in mind if you want to have him as part of a display.  It would be easy to lose the smaller pieces like this.

The issue with the wrench keeps this from being a perfect ornament for me, but I do still like Lil’ Mater.