Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Character Balloons

Since 2013, the balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade have come in two varieties. The first (and older of the two) is the novelty balloon class, consisting of smaller balloons which range widely in size and are handled by between one and thirty people (some shaped like human heads that fit on the actual heads of the handlers). The second and more widely known is the full-size balloon class, primarily consisting of licensed pop-culture characters; each of these is handled by exactly 90 people. From 2005 to 2012, a third balloon class, the "Blue Sky Gallery," transformed the works of contemporary artists into full-size balloons.

Replacing the live animals that had been used in early Macy's Parades, balloons were introduced to the event in 1927 by Tony Sarg, a marionette maker from London who had moved to New York City to perform with his puppets on the street. Originally built by the Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, since 1984, balloons have been built by Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Raven Industries' "Aerostar" division.

The following is a list of balloons that have, over the years, been featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, sorted by their first year in the lineup.

1930s introductions

 * Felix the Cat, the second balloon appeared in 2010s.
 * Mama, Papa and Baby
 * Mickey Mouse, Mickey has appeared in four versions since he was introduced to the parade. In his first, he was normal, in his second, he was wearing a yellow shirt, in his third, he was wearing a bandleader outfit and a hat and holding a stick, and in his fourth, he was wearing a sailor version of his usual costume.
 * Horace Horsecollar
 * Eddie Cantor
 * The Marx Brothers
 * Donald Duck, After the original was retired, a second balloon of the character was retired in the 1960s, and the third balloon of the character was launched in 2000s
 * Nantucket Sea Monster, the longest balloon appears in the parade.
 * Christmas Stocking
 * Uncle Sam
 * The Tin Man
 * Pinocchio
 * Santa Claus

1940s introductions

 * Hippo
 * Superman
 * Dumbo
 * Football Player
 * Bobo the Hobo
 * Acrobat
 * Teddy Bear
 * Pumpkin
 * Ice Cream Cone
 * Baseball Player
 * Panda Bear
 * Pilgrim Father
 * Pirate
 * Police Officer
 * Elf Gnome
 * Fireman
 * Toy Soldier

1950s introductions

 * The Dachshund
 * Lucky Pup
 * Mighty Mouse
 * Flying Fish
 * Spaceman
 * Popeye, After the original was retired, a second balloon of the character was launched in the 2010s.

1960s introductions

 * Happy Dragon The original Happy Dragon is the longest-lasting balloon ever to appear in the parade, with twenty-four appearances
 * Bullwinkle J. Moose A second version of Bullwinkle's balloon, pairing him with his friend/sidekick Rocky, was used in the mid- and late 1990s.
 * Sinclair Oil Dinosaur, the first appearance in 1963, the second balloon in 2015.
 * Elsie the Cow
 * Linus The Lionhearted
 * Underdog
 * Smokey Bear
 * Snoopy, Snoopy has had more variants made than any other character, with seven in total. He first appeared as an aviator, then became an astronaut in 1969 to promote the Apollo 11 space program. In the 1980s, two versions of Snoopy were made: an "Ice Skating" version and a "Winter" version, the latter of which paired him with his buddy Woodstock. A fifth version was launched in 1999 to herald in the new millennium; this was given a minor alteration in 2001 to honor the parade's 75th anniversary. In 2007, a sixth Snoopy balloon was made, based on his "Flying Ace" alter ego. The most recent Snoopy balloon, again pairing him with Woodstock, was introduced in 2013, The new Astronaut Snoopy balloon introduced in 2019.

1970s introductions

 * Smiley Face
 * Weebles
 * Kermit the Frog, After the original was retired, a second balloon of the character was launched in the 2000s

1980s introductions

 * Olive Oyl
 * Woody Woodpecker, Widest balloon in parade history. After the original was retired, a second balloon of the character was launched in the 2000s.
 * Yogi Bear
 * Garfield, After the original was retired, a second balloon of the character was launched in the 2000s
 * Raggedy Ann
 * Betty Boop
 * Ornament Novelty Balloons
 * Humpty Dumpty
 * Baby Shamu
 * Ice Cream Cone Novelty
 * Spider-Man, After the original was retired, a second balloon of the character was retired in the 2000s, and the third balloon was launched in 2010s.
 * Ronald McDonald, Ronald has appeared in four versions since he was introduced to the parade. In his first, he was holding balloons; in his second, he was normal; in his third, he was wearing a scarf and ice skates, and in his fourth, he was wearing a tuxedo version of his usual costume.
 * Snuggle Bear
 * Big Bird, After the original was retired, a second balloon of the character was retired in the 2000s.
 * Quik Bunny
 * The Pink Panther
 * Bugs Bunny

1990s introductions

 * Clifford the Big Red Dog
 * Bart Simpson
 * Babar the Elephant
 * Novelty Pumpkins
 * Santa Goofy
 * Beethoven the Dog
 * Sonic the Hedgehog, the first Video Game Character in the Parade. A second balloon of the character was made in 2011, based on a redesign introduced after the original balloon was retired
 * Rex from We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
 * Izzy
 * Wiggle Worm
 * Cloe the Holiday Clown
 * Barney the Dinosaur
 * The Cat in the Hat
 * Dudley the Dragon
 * FujiFilm's Blimp
 * SkyDancer
 * Eben Bear
 * Rocky and Bullwinkle
 * Peter Rabbit
 * Arthur
 * Rugrats
 * Bumpé
 * Petula Pig
 * Mushu from Mulan, the first Chinese character in parade
 * Babe the Pig
 * Wild Thing
 * Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory
 * Honey Nut Cheerios Bee
 * Pat and Mat
 * Blue

2000s introductions

 * Jeeves
 * Dragon Tales' Cassie
 * Curious George
 * Pikachu, Three balloons have been made for the parade, one showing Pikachu flying, another with him chasing a PokeBall, and a third with him holding a Pikachu snowman
 * Jimmy Neutron
 * Cheesasaurus Rex
 * Charlie Brown
 * Little Bill
 * Mr. Monopoly
 * Oswald the Octopus
 * Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy
 * Super Grover
 * Chicken Little
 * "Red" and "Yellow" M&M's
 * SpongeBob SquarePants
 * Marty the Zebra from Madagascar
 * Daffy Duck
 * Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
 * Kit, Charlie and C.J.
 * Dora the Explorer, the first Latino character on the parade
 * JoJo from JoJo's Circus
 * Scooby-Doo
 * Healthy Mr. Potato Head
 * Tutenstein
 * Boog from Open Season
 * 80th Anniversary Hot Air Balloon
 * Bernard Bear
 * The Thief from The Thief & the Cobbler, the first Arabian character in the parade
 * Wilt from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
 * Macy's Yellow Stars
 * Abby Cadabby
 * Hello Kitty
 * Shrek
 * Timmy Turner
 * Odie
 * Beetle Bailey
 * Smurf
 * Buzz Lightyear
 * Horton the Elephant
 * Bo from Bo on the Go!
 * Green Believe Star
 * Pillsbury Doughboy
 * Homer Simpson from The Simpsons
 * Polvina from Sea Princesses

2010s introductions

 * Greg Heffley
 * Po from Kung Fu Panda
 * Super Why
 * Winnie the Pooh
 * Blu from Rio
 * Batman
 * Virginia O'Hanlon
 * Julius the Sock Monkey
 * Mr. Tickle
 * Fireman Sam
 * The Lorax
 * Gazer Elf
 * Papa Smurf
 * The Elf on the Shelf
 * WordGirl
 * Molly from Bubble Guppies
 * Rabbids on a Spaceship
 * Toothless the Dragon
 * Postman Pat
 * The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Hot Air Balloon
 * Adventure Time with Finn and Jake
 * Thomas the Tank Engine
 * Paddington Bear, Originally appeared as a falloon in the 1990's
 * Red Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger
 * Eruptor (Skylanders)
 * Scrat from Ice Age
 * Red from Angry Birds
 * Amethyst from Steven Universe
 * Simba from The Lion Guard
 * DreamWorks' Trolls
 * Shimmer, Shine and Leah
 * Owlette
 * Jett from Super Wings, the first South Korean Balloon
 * The Grinch & Max, Originally appeared as a falloon in the 1990's
 * Chase from PAW Patrol
 * Olaf from Frozen
 * Mavis from Hotel Transylvania
 * Fleck, Bjorn, JoJo & Hugg from The Christmas Chronicles
 * Goku from Dragon Ball
 * Star Butterfly from Star vs. the Forces of Evil
 * Abby Hatcher
 * Fleeker from Floogals
 * Duggee from Hey Duggee'
 * Green Eggs and Ham
 * Yi and Everest from Abominable

Blue Sky Gallery entries

 * "Humpty Dumpty" by Tom Otterness (2005–2006)
 * "Rabbit" by Jeff Koons (2007)
 * "Figure with Heart" by Keith Haring (2008)
 * "Kaikai and Kiki" by Takashi Murakami (2010)
 * "B" by Tim Burton (2011)
 * "Companion" by KAWS (2012)
 * "Little Cloud" by FriendsWithYou (2018)
 * "Love Flies Up to the Sky" by Yayoi Kusama (2019)