By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
The annual Macy’s parade is as much a part of an American Thanksgiving as turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.
This year the parade is getting new floats, balloons, and brands taking part in this beloved tradition, including the appearance of the character Goku from the anime franchise Dragon Ball.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball with the debut of a brand-new Goku giant character balloon at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” said Masayuki Endo, President and CEO of Toei Animation Inc. “During those 40 years, the Dragon Ball franchise has grown to achieve worldwide success, earning mainstream pop culture status and garnering a multi-generational fan base.
“We’re excited to present Dragon Ball and this iconic version of Goku to those watching this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, to both the tens of millions of people new to anime and the tens of millions of Dragon Ball fans alike!”
Goku as a character has appeared in the Macy’s Parade with the company’s original giant balloon in 2018-2019, and from 2021 to 2023, but this year marks the first appearance of Goku with a new balloon in his iconic ‘Saiyan’ form.
Measuring a stunning 70.5-feet long, 33-feet wide and 41.5-feet tall, the new Goku will be easy to spot during his inaugural flight from Central Park West to Herald Square, home to Macy’s famed flagship store. He’ll be led along the way by skilled balloon handlers before millions of live spectators and viewers across the country.
Similarly, other global brands are also bringing new visions of their characters to the 98th Macy’s Parade, including the New York super hero Spider-Man.
For the first time in a decade, Spider-Man will bring Marvel back to one of New York City’s most iconic events, celebrating Marvel and Spider-Man’s roots in New York, the home of Marvel and its 85-year comic book history.
“Ever since MARVEL COMICS #1 hit stands in 1939, Marvel’s home has always been New York. So when the opportunity to work with Macy’s came about to bring one of our most iconic characters back to one of the most emblematic events of New York City, we knew this was the perfect fit for Spidey and our brand’s legacy,” said Chris Fondacaro, Head of Marvel Franchise. “We’re absolutely thrilled to celebrate our roots and our fans while honoring one of the most indelible comic book creators from Marvel Comics: John Romita Sr.”
There are several other major brands and characters taking part in the Macy’s Parade this year with giant balloons, including the hit children’s book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants and his pet snail Gary, and the return of Smokey the Bear from the USDA Forest Service as a smaller ‘Novelty Balloon’.
This year, however, several brands have opted to create new balloons.
Spin Master and Nickelodeon are bringing the character of Marshall from the hit show and toy franchise Paw Patrol, replacing the former float featuring the character Chase.
The Lumistella Company will have a new float for their popular character Elf on the Shelf, as well as a float for the first time ever for the character Extraordinary Noorah. The new Noorah balloon measures 66 feet long, or the length of 22 arctic foxes! Elf on the Shelf has appeared in several Macy’s Parades, but the original balloon was retired in 2020, prompting the design of a new balloon for 2024.
Extraordinary Noorah is a fictional character from The Lumistella Company’s “Santaverse,” an enchanted world featuring characters from Elf on the Shelf, Elf Pets, and Elf Mates. She first appeared in the animated holiday special, Elf Pets: A Fox Cub’s Christmas Tale on Netflix in 2019, and starred in her own book, Extraordinary Noorah: Santa’s Magical Arctic Fox in 2023.
This will be the character’s debut in the Macy’s Parade.
Nickelodeon, as one of the largest participants in the Macy’s Parade, will also have both a Novelty Balloon for the character Dora from Dora the Explorer, but will also have a brand new float called Dora’s Fantastical Rainforest, appearing at the parade for the first time.
Dora has been taking part in the parade since 2005, and her giant balloon was retired in 2009 after five appearances. She also had three floats through the 2010s and now in 2024 with a float called Dora’s Fantastical Rainforest.
There will be two other first-time floats at the Macy’s Parade this year. One is called ‘Strikes Again’, a float from the Go Bowling franchise, and the other is the Wondrous World of Wildlife from the Bronx Zoo.
Other floats include three from Macy’s, those being ‘Tom Turkey’, Macy’s Singing Christmas Tree’, and ‘People of First Light’, and ‘Santa’s Sleigh’, which is the oldest float in the parade, having appeared 15 times, more than double the number of times of any other float or balloon.
Additionally, there will be returning floats from Toys’R’Us (Geoffrey’s Dazzling Dance Party), The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Paramount and Nickelodeon, and one mysterious entry also from Nickelodeon called ‘Garriage’, which is entered under the ‘Specialty Unit’ in the parade lineup. Typically, Specialty Units are made up of precision horse or motorcycle teams from the NYPD or NYC Parks, so we’ll be interested to see what Nickelodeon has up its sleeve.