I’m a movie buff, and as a result, the December crop of movies has me a
bit stressed out. How, oh how, am I going to make it to the theater for The Princess and the Frog, The Lovely Bones, Avatar and Sherlock Holmes?
I may have to wait for Netflix, but at least with the last one, I have
Snoopy to help tide me over. That’s because several years ago, while
browsing around in a local thrift shop, we found The Detective, the
third ornament in the Spotlight on Snoopy series. It’s always a bit of a
chore to locate this ornament come Christmastime, since it came
packaged in the box of an entirely different ornament, something to do
with giving a gold star to a worthy teacher. But that makes its arrival
all the more welcome once we do find it.
Like the other
Spotlight on Snoopy ornaments, this Snoopy is fairly small at just over
two inches high. From the back of his head to the front of his nose,
there is about an inch and a quarter, and that is the thickest point of
the ornament. Snoopy stands flat on his two white feet, and Woodstock,
on his tiny yellow feet, stands flat as well. Leaning up against Snoopy,
Woodstock is dressed in drab black. He seems to be holding a legal pad,
perusing notes pertaining to the case at hand. On his head is a jaunty
derby.
Snoopy, meanwhile, is garbed all in red augmented with
green and yellow stripes that intersect and go both horizontally and
vertically. From the colors to his oddly-shaped hat to the magnifying
glass he holds in the hand that stretches out from underneath his cloak,
it’s clear that Snoopy is emulating Sherlock Holmes, making Woodstock
Watson. The two are a perfect pair. Clearly visible is Snoopy’s entire
head, with his squinty eyes, round nose and black ears; the rest of him,
aside from the hand and two feet, is obscured by the clothing.
I don’t recall seeing Snoopy play Sherlock at any point in the comic
strip, but given the beagle’s fondness for literature, it’s no surprise
to see him portray such an iconic fictional figure, and bringing
Woodstock along for the ride is simply the friendly thing to do.
Besides, where would Sherlock be without his trusty assistant? This is a
very cute little ornament that could easily stay out all year long,
though we always put it away for the year. It could rest on a shelf or
piano with no trouble, but we always hang this one on the tree; the hook
goes atop his hat, and he dangles quite nicely from the branch at hand.
We’re big Snoopy fans around here, so it’s something of a
surprise to me that we don’t have more of the ornaments in this series,
but I’m glad we picked this one up, even if he did come in the wrong
box. After all, a little bit of mystery is particularly fitting for this
super sleuth and his dedicated assistant.
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