Rocky's the squirrel, Bullwinkle is the moose. The simple fact that the odds are about a billion to one that if you have the technology and intelligence to read this column (since all my readers are brilliant of course) that's obvious to you, shows just how well known this pair of goofy characters are.

In 2000, a live action/animation film adaptation was released. As Rocky would say "Again? That trick never works!".

There's never been a ton of product though, oddly enough. There was a great series of PVC's done about 7 or 8 years ago, covering a number of the old Jay Ward cartoons, but that's about it in recent history.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"Rocky and Bullwinkle Christmas Ornaments"

Dark Horse has stepped up this year with some nifty Christmas ornaments based on the pair. These retail for around $20, just in time for the holiday season! These are actually part of a pseudo-series, with two previous two pack ornaments sets of Krazy Kat/Ignatz and Heckle/Jeckle released in previous years.

Packaging - ***
The graphics are festive if basic, with some simple text. The box is a little easy to rip, so be careful removing the ornaments. It's collector friendly though, which is always a good thing for ornaments, since you end up storing them for the majority of the year. Might as well do it in the original box!

Sculpting - ***
I've always suspected that Rocky and Bullwinkle were gay. Any doubts I once had have been completely removed by the sculpted poses. We need a Harvey Birdman episode where he defends their right to marriage.

Bullwinkle is displaying his balls, er, ornaments, skipping along effused with holiday bliss. The sculpt is quite good, especially for an ornament, where we tend to see some real lack of focus when it comes to details like scale and proportions. He can even stand on his own, although it's a bit of a trick to make it happen.

Rocky is popping out of a Christmas present, scaring the living hell out of someone no doubt. I'm not sure how he ended up in the package in the first place - after all, he's supposed to be the smart one - but he's probably doing it as a favor to Bullwinkle. His scale to his big buddy isn't perfect, but it's decent. He's a tad large next to Bullwinkle, but not so much as to be a major issue.

These are made from polystone, which is used in many high quality statues and busts. It's a hefty material, and allows for a better, cleaner, more detailed sculpt. It also holds up well to some abuse, although I wouldn't throw it at the wall.

Paint - Bullwinkle ***1/2; Rocky ***
Both figures sport better than average paint jobs for cartoon Christmas ornaments. Unfortunately, most entries in that catagory are woefully poor. Thanksfully, moose and squirrel are an exception.

Rocky does have some bleed between colors though, and some of the lines defining each color are sloppy and inconsistent. Bullwinkle has a much cleaner job, with just a few areas around the white of his costume having minor issues. I have a hunch though that this quality will vary, as it often does with this time of an item.

Fun Factor - **
There's no doubt that moose and squirrel are fun - it's just that polystone ornaments are a little to easy to break to be 'fun'. Cute, yes, fun, no.

Value - **1/2
These are well done, although not quite at the level of quality of some of the higher end Hallmark stuff. Of course, those ornaments have gotten ridiculous, costing $13 - $18 each these days. Here you're getting two solid quality ornaments of licensed nostalgia favorites for about $10 each. It's not an amazing deal, but you won't feel ripped off either.

Overall - ***
If cute cartoon characters from days gone by decking the halls gets you in the holiday mood, then these will jingle your bells. I really wish we'd see an actual line of figures based on the old Ward cartoons, like Mr. Peabody and Fractured Fairy Tales, but until that happens, I'll have to make due with these nifty ornaments.

Where to Buy -
These should be showing up at some specialty stores and comic book shops in time for the holiday season.