Toon balloons to loom for 87th parade

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 for the TV audience of 50 million. There are 86 years worth of history to honor while making a pitch to first-time fans.

For many families the parade characters are like the cousins that float around grandma’s house: They’re 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 place in the lineup. A new version of Hello Kitty will 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 says.

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

There have been six versions of Snoopy for a total of 36 parade appearances over the years, making him the most frequent participant. He’s 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 money has the widest smile, measuring 19 feet. This year’s Kermit is the one that debuted in 2002, although there was another version used in previous decades.

Other tidbits:

» 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 to hover over the Big Apple, first visited the parade route two years earlier as the first square balloon, which takes more than 600 internal tie lines to pull him into shape. The squishy Pillsbury Doughboy, famous from his TV ads, makes his signature giggle as he passes by crowds.

» Blue, bearded Papa Smurf and his 23-foot cane are new, but Clumsy Smurf came ahead of him. His first flight was 2008, and he retired after last year’s parade. Smurfs have that multigenerational recognition Macy’s is looking for, as today’s parents remember them fondly from a 1980s cartoon, but their kids know them as big-screen stars getting a movie sequel next year.

» The Macy’s parade started in 1924 with mostly the retailer’s employees and their families doing most of the work. That’s a tradition it upholds today. The only break was during World War II.

» The only requirements to be a balloon handler? To be at least 18 years old and weigh 125 pounds or more.

» A new app is being introduced this year that will allow real-time interaction, including the Elf-o-matic feature, which can transform users’ photos into an Elf balloon.