Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

[AdamYJ]

Considering this has been a big part of the Thanksgiving festivities for so long, I figure it deserves a thread. Personally, I've been hooked on watching this parade since one year they staged a battle between He-Man and Skeletor on a castle shaped float.

This year's was pretty much as good as usual with all the same complaints (for example: I can do without America Sings). The musical numbers were pretty good, with possibly the exception of Barenaked Ladies playing "Jingle Bells", possibly the most annoying of the traditional holiday songs. As is often a risk of watching the parade, I had a Broadway song stuck in my head. This time it was "Burning Love" from that musical with all the Elvis Presley music (has anyone ever found it strange that it's probably considered an honor to perform in the street for the parade, when usually the streets of New York are the reserved stage for people who play the guitar badly and want loose change).

Though, the real thing most people cast their attention to is the character balloons. This year, we got the new additions of Spongebob Squarepants, Chicken Little and the Red and Yellow M&Ms. Spongebob was not an unexpected choice. I'm not sure how long he'll last in this parade, though. I liked the addition of the M&Ms. They're long-time familiar characters and I like when they use more than one character per baloon. Considering the movie's not out yet, Chicken Little didn't really mean anything to me.

And since it's fun to play what-if?:

Characters I'd like to see as baloons

Shrek- A well known enough character for both kids and adults. Might reach a few more people than some character baloons.

Mario and Luigi- I don't think Pikachu is really enough representation for the video game world, especially since the Sonic baloon is gone. Plus, if anyone deserves a two-character baloon it's them.

Superman- Anyone else notice the obvious absence of the Spider-Man baloon? It's a perfect opportunity for Time Warner to jump in and provide a baloon of one of the world's top pop culture icons.

 

[wrenchien]

i saw it end and begin..
and i'm pretty sure in the middle i mowed a friend's yard.

 

[Discloner]

Considering the movie's not out yet, Chicken Little didn't really mean anything to me.

From the front lines in NYC, it seems like most of the American public agreed. When the Chicken Little balloon passed, nobody really knew what it was or what to call it. Spongebob probably got the biggest applause out of all the balloons...followed by...the Ask Jeeves Butler, of all balloons.

What I want to know is what happened to the Rugrats balloon, and didn't CN represent themselves with a Dexter one last year?

 

[Aquadementia]

I saw the Spongebob on the news.
That had to be vary cool to see in person.
He was destine to be a giant balloon some day.

As far as who else should get a balloon, if Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends lasts a good while,
Blooregard,
although an Eduardo or Wilt would be neat-o too.

 

[guinaevere]

I have such great memories of getting up and watching the Thansgiving Day Parade every year with my Dad. I tried watching after he passed away, but it wasn't the same... and now, I get turned off by all those commercials. It just ain't the same.

Though I would have liked to see the Spongebob Balloon.

 

[AdamYJ]

From the front lines in NYC, it seems like most of the American public agreed. When the Chicken Little balloon passed, nobody really knew what it was or what to call it. Spongebob probably got the biggest applause out of all the balloons...followed by...the Ask Jeeves Butler, of all balloons.

What I want to know is what happened to the Rugrats balloon, and didn't CN represent themselves with a Dexter one last year?

A lot of these baloons don't last all that long. Rugrats got in a couple of years. Dexter got at least one. I think there was also a Jimmy Neutron one last year or the year before. It seems the Rugrats one got replaced by Spongebob. There are quite a few one or two year wonders among the baloons, like Skydancer, Dudley the Dragon and Cheesasaurus Rex. It's characters like Garfield, Big Bird, Ronald McDonald, Kermit the Frog and the Peanuts characters (either Snoopy or now Charlie Brown) that have the most staying power. Old school favorites like the Quik Bunny, Woody Woodpecker and Spider-Man all got very good runs too. That's one of the reasons I liked seeing the M&Ms as a balloon. It seems like they might have some staying power. It's also why I think the Mario Bros. and Superman should get baloons. Then again, I would have thought the same thing of the Rocky and Bullwinkle one and that's long gone now.

As for the Ask Jeeves baloon, it is kind of odd isn't it? It's weird, I remember reading an old Avengers comic in which there was an Avengers Day parade and there was a giant baloon of their butler Jarvis. That's all I can think of when I see that baloon.

 

[Boy Wonder]

Super Grover, I said this once already and I'll say it again: IT RULZ! I saw bits and pieces here and there after I was done cleaning house of another kind

 

[Damien]

I caught a couple of the balloons. I'm glad I caught Clifford the Big Red Dog. Three years ago, when I was a junior in high school, I got to walk underneath it for about a block on the way back to the hotel. I was in the parade that day with America Sings (sorry, Adam).

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Most Macy's balloons and floats are bought corporate space now, and that's why 75% of them are based on characters no one has heard of until that point. It's never been more blatantly obvious, with this year's features of the Barbie song coincidentally based on the new video, and a Tutenstein float(you watch Tutenstein, right? Right? though we got to hear "walk like an Egyptian" again, which was cool). Ditto with the musical guests hired. I have a feeling the record companies paid to get them in, not the other way around. "And on this float is teen singing sensation TODD ZAKEIFQJA!!" Oh wow, it's really HIM!

It took way too long for Spongebob to get his own balloon. Why does Little Bill still have one and Dora still does not? Which of those two shows do children actually WATCH here?

 

[Discloner]

Though I would have liked to see the Spongebob Balloon.

Good thing I took pictures.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

Balloons id like to see:

Space Ghost (if they could do it without promoting AS it would be perfect)

any pixar character (have they ever gotten balloons?)

Toucan Sam (i always thought that he would be a natural for a balloon)

C3p0 and/or R2D2 (For all the Star Wars geeks out there)

 

[Aquadementia]

Good thing I took pictures.

That is totally awesome!
Who's your god now?

 

[Discloner]

Pikachu also looked like he was ready to body-slam the mob of people.

 

[purplehairedwonder]

The musical numbers were pretty good, with possibly the exception of Barenaked Ladies playing "Jingle Bells", possibly the most annoying of the traditional holiday songs.

I liked that one. It was about the only one that I liked

 

[AdamYJ]

I liked that one. It was about the only one that I liked

I'm just really tired of "Jingle Bells" in any form after so many years of hearing it. It's pretty much turned into the first Christmas song anyone thinks of when they start thinking of Christmas songs. Easily remembered but annoying in its persistance.

Anyway, I like a lot of the baloon ideas. So far, including my own, they have been:

Shrek
Mario and Luigi
Superman
Bloo
Dora the Explorer (casually suggested by Martianinvader).
Space Ghost
A Pixar character (I'd suggest Buzz Lightyear)
Toucan Sam (Great idea. Tony the Tiger would also be cool)
C3PO and/or R2D2

For some reason I spend a lot of time every Fall thinking "Who deserves a Macy's baloon?" (God, I've got to get a life).

 

[Chris]

I wonder if it's worth taping this year, what with that dumb disease restricting things. It might prove interesting from a historical perspective. What say you? I plan on recording it.

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Me too, assuming something airs. It could be a clip show retrospective or something, but it'd be an interesting historical curiosity in the future.

 

[twilicorn]

No, it's going ahead, but instead of going down Manhattan, they're limiting everything to just in front of the store. From their site:

"In order to avoid gathering large crowds of spectators along our traditional 2.5-mile route in New York City, we have shortened the route to focus solely on the last section of our annual march. On Thanksgiving Day, we will showcase our annual celebration’s signature balloons, floats, performances and herald the arrival of Santa Claus, in front of Macy’s famed flagship store on 34th Street for our national television special on NBC.

This change will allow millions of New Yorkers and the nation to safely experience Macy’s beloved spectacle from the comforts of home.

To ensure a safe experience for all involved, we are not marching down the streets of Manhattan this year and instead will bring all the magic of this American tradition to you on television and online. In preparation for this one-of-a-kind celebration, the Macy’s team meticulously reviewed every area of the Parade playbook to put in place enhanced health and safety practices that align with CDC guidelines, as well as local and state government protocols."

Our local Christmas parade is also going ahead, but I hear it's going to be a drive-through thing.

 

[dth1971]

Liked the new Boss Baby balloon. And Santa wasn't wearing a face mask but was social distanced on his float.

 

[pacman000]

They brought the giant Pikachu costumes over to New York. Looked like the segment might’ve been prerecorded earlier in the week tho.