Macy’s Thanksgivng Parade balloon friends lift spirits

NEW YORK — One man’s Elf on the Shelf is another’s Kermit the Frog, but at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, there is room for both.

The parade has to be a multigenerational crowd-pleaser for the more than 3 million people who typically attend the event and the TV audience of 50 million. There are 86 years of history to honor while making a pitch to first-time fans.

For many families, the parade characters are like the cousins who float around Grandma’s house: They are familiar, but not everyone at the table knows the back story.

Giant balloons this year, for example, will add Papa Smurf and the Elf on a Shelf, while Buzz Lightyear, Sailor Mickey Mouse and the Pillsbury Doughboy keep their places in the lineup. A new version of Hello Kitty also is to be included.

“A great thing about the parade balloons is that they are the most recognizable characters in the world. Betty Boop or Felix the Cat — we might not all have been around when they were really popular, but we understand the pop culture significance of them,” parade spokesman Orlando Veras said.

Every time a character is added to the family of balloons — which overshadows everything else — they are guaranteed a run of three years.

“After that,” Mr. Veras said, “you never know. Sometimes the character owners have other things they want to do with the characters, sometimes we want to retire them, or sometimes we have to retire them because they can’t fly anymore.”

There have been six versions of Snoopy for a total of 36 parade appearances over the years, making him the most frequent participant. He is sitting out this year so his buddy Charlie Brown can have another turn.

The Muppet Kermit is the longest balloon at 78 feet, and Paul Frank’s Julius sock monkey has the widest smile, measuring 19 feet. This year’s Kermit is the one that debuted in 2002, although another version was born in the 1960s.

Other tidbits:

The crawling Spider-Man balloon was created in 2009, more than 20 years after the initial appearance of Peter Parker’s alter ego.

Rex the Happy Dragon is returning as a midsize balloon. He claims the longest run — he was part of the first parade to include balloons in 1927. That year, he was joined by Felix the Cat and Toy Solider.

The Elf on the Shelf’s name is Chippy. He is part of a newer but popular family tradition that features a doll version of the elf playing hide-and-seek in homes in the run-up to Christmas.

The claim to fame for Pokemon character Pikachu is being the first special-effect balloon: His cheeks light up. He started flying in 2006.

SpongeBob SquarePants, who leaves his Nickelodeon pineapple under the sea, first visited the parade route in 2004 as the first square balloon, which takes more than 600 internal tie lines to pull him into shape.

Story Continues →

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.