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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023 Balloons: One Piece, Grogu & More

Here's a rundown of the balloons & balloonicles we can expect during Thursday's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2023: One Piece, Grogu & more.

Since we start eating the night before the holiday ("The Countdown to Stuffing continues…), there are only two reasons to wake up early on Thanksgiving morning. To take advantage of some not-very-old leftovers for breakfast and to watch The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC – with the 97th edition of the holiday tradition set to kick off on Thursday morning, November 23rd, at 8:30 am ET.  To help get you prepared, we have a rundown of the balloons & balloonicles that will be making their way down the streets of NYC tomorrow. Along with returning balloons – like Grogu from The Mandalorian and BBC Studios' Bluey – we have some early looks at new balloons, including Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Po from the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise, and more!

But first, here's a look at the new balloons being given a chance to shine during Balloonfest 2023, with some insights from the folks who help bring them to life:

And here's a rundown of the balloons that will be on display during this year's parade:

BEAGLE SCOUT SNOOPY

PEANUTS WORLDWIDE

Beagle Scout Snoopy and best friend Woodstock make their ascent this Thanksgiving in New York City. This is the 9th version of the longest-running character balloon in the Parade, and it celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the first appearance of the Beagle Scouts, which includes Woodstock and his bird pals, in Charles M. Schulz's beloved comic strip.

Balloon Dimensions: 42-feet long, 34-feet wide, 55-feet tall

Fun Fact: The Beagle Scout Snoopy balloon's giant hat is equivalent to the length of 17 beagles!

BLUEY

BBC STUDIOS

Get ready to cheer on Bluey as she plays Keepy Uppy with her last red balloon all the way down the Parade route. This lovable pup from the global hit series is excited to bring families together year-round by sharing the power of creativity and imaginative play. Wackadoo!

Balloon Dimensions: 51-feet long, 37-feet wide, 52-feet tall

Fun Fact: Bluey was hand painted by a team of artists with approximately 50 gallons of blue paint!

BLUE CAT & CHUGS

COOL CATS

Cool Cats is a storytelling character brand with a community spanning the world. First created in 2013 as a comic character, Blue Cat has since come to life through digital collectibles, animated content, comics, games, and merchandise. After winning a fan vote for the first-ever NFT Parade balloon, Blue Cat and his best friend Chugs are making their Parade debut this Thanksgiving morning.

Balloon Dimensions: 36-feet long, 27-feet wide, 34-feet tall

Fun Fact: Cool Cats is the first ever NFT character turned into a real-life Parade balloon!

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

ABRAMS BOOKS

Greg Heffley, the mega-popular star of the best-selling book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid®, appears in the Parade for the 14th time this Thanksgiving. Beware of the Cheese Touch!

Balloon Dimensions: 45-feet long, 23-feet wide, 39-feet tall

Fun Fact: Wimpy Kid's backpack is large enough to hold about 2,000 regular backpacks inside of it.

DINO AND BABY DINO

HF SINCLAIR

Sinclair Oil, an HF Sinclair brand, & DINO (pronounced DYE-NO), America's most famous Apatosaurus, return to NYC with Baby DINO to celebrate Sinclair's growing family.

Balloon Dimensions: 68-feet long, 26-feet wide, 49-feet tall

Fun Fact: Baby DINO is a separate balloon and is attached to DINO's back from several connection points.

GOKU

TOEI ANIMATION INC.

Goku, the legendary hero of the Dragon Ball franchise returns for another Parade appearance. Dragon Ball, a Japanese anime series that first aired in the U.S. more than 25 years ago, focuses on Goku, a Saiyan warrior who is peaceful, good-natured, loving and honest.

Balloon Dimensions: 70-feet long, 36-feet wide, 56-feet tallFun Fact: The balloon depicts Goku in his Super Saiyan Blue form as seen in Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

GROGU

FUNKO

The fan-favorite Funko Pop!-styled Grogu™ balloon commemorates the beloved Star Wars™ series The Mandalorian™ bringing adorableness back to our galaxy! This larger-than-life "precious cargo" is inspired by the Funko Pop! collectible.

Balloon Dimensions: 29-feet long, 37-feet wide, 41-feet tall

Fun Fact: 475,200 normal-sized knobs can fit inside Grogu's shifter knob balloon!

KUNG FU PANDA'S PO

UNIVERSAL PICTURES' DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

With a mighty "Skadoosh!" and a flying kick, everyone's favorite Dragon Warrior, the legendary Kung Fu Panda, Po, returns to the Parade with an all-new look this Thanksgiving. Destiny calls for Po to set off on another fantastic adventure in the new DreamWorks Animation film, Kung Fu Panda 4, next spring.

Balloon Dimensions: 49-feet long, 36-feet wide, 39-feet tall

Fun Fact: It took more than 1,000 yards of fabric to create the Po balloon!

LEO

NETFLIX, INC.

Flying in from Florida for his first Parade is Leo, a 74-year-old lizard with a heart of gold that is the star of Netflix's upcoming animated film LEO starring Adam Sandler. In this coming-of-age musical comedy, Leo plans an escape to tackle his bucket list, but instead helps his anxious students during their last year of elementary school.

Balloon Dimensions: 73-feet long, 27-feet wide, 41-feet tall

Fun Fact: The Leo balloon is so large it took about 50 gallons of paint to cover it!

MONKEY D. LUFFY

TOEI ANIMATION INC.

Monkey D. Luffy appears in New York City this Thanksgiving in search of the ultimate pirate treasure. This fearless leader of the Straw Hat Crew, who aspires to be King of the Pirates, is the main character of the globally acclaimed One Piece animated series, which will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary next year.

Balloon Dimensions: 43-feet long, 39-feet wide, 50-feet tall

Fun Fact: The Monkey D. Luffy balloon is painted with over 20 different colors!

PAW PATROL

NICKELODEON & SPIN MASTER

Hailing all the way from Adventure Bay, PAW Patrol's Chase takes to the sky this Thanksgiving. This fearless rescue pup from the globally beloved preschool series, PAW Patrol, is ready to come to the ruffruff-rescue & show the citizens of New York that "no job is too big, no pup is too small."

Balloon Dimensions: 60-feet long, 36-feet wide, 43-feet tall

Fun Fact: Chase's hat could cover an actual police squad car and his paws are larger than two full-grown Great Dane dogs.

PILLSBURY DOUGHBOY

PILLSBURY

Inspiring Thanksgiving bakers across the U.S., the classic Pillsbury Doughboy (full name: Poppin' Fresh) takes flight down the Parade route to celebrate with millions of Americans as they enjoy both his cheerful giggle & home-baked holiday treats and sides.

Balloon Dimensions: 54-feet long, 34-feet wide, 46-feet tall

Fun Fact: It would take more than four million Pillsbury™ Crescent Rolls to create a "dough-sized" version
of the balloon.

PIKACHU & EEVEE

THE POKÉMON COMPANY INTERNATIONAL

Returning in their Poké Ball-inspired sleigh are Pikachu & Eevee, bringing smiles to everyone's faces for the 23rd consecutive appearance of Pokémon in the Parade. An adventure is always better with friends & these two popular Pokémon are all smiles as they adorably sled down the route & into the holiday season.

Balloon Dimensions: 48-feet long, 23-feet wide, 34-feet tall

Fun Fact: Each blade on the sleigh is about the same length as a semi-trailer truck!

RED TITAN FROM "RYAN'S WORLD"

SUNLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT & POCKET.WATCH

Swooping in to save the day this holiday season is Red Titan, the brave and kind alter-ego of Ryan from Ryan's World. This larger-than-life, pint-sized superhero is making his fourth Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade appearance this year.

Balloon Dimensions: 51-feet long, 28-feet wide, 42-feet tall

Fun Fact: The Red Titan's cape is the largest in the Parade, with over 15 gallons of red paint used!

RONALD MCDONALD®

McDONALD'S USA

The world's most famous clown returns to the Big Apple. This is his fifth design since he first joined the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1987! In this version, Ronald is sharing his heart at a time when we all need some extra love & smiles as he inspires spectators to, "see a smile, share a smile."

Balloon Dimensions: 68-feet long, 31-feet wide, 40-feet tall

Fun Fact: It took 2,629 hours to complete the Ronald balloon at Macy's Studio and over 50 gallons of paint!

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS & GARY

NICKELODEON

This optimistic sea sponge—so popular he's mentioned on social media every four seconds—is all smiles as he returns on Thanksgiving for his 20th appearance. SpongeBob is accompanied by his pet snail Gary, so get ready for some F-U-N!

Balloon Dimensions: 46-feet long, 36-feet wide, 44-feet tall

Fun Fact: This is SpongeBob's third balloon in the Parade; he made his first appearance in 2004 and was redesigned for his second balloon in 2013. SpongeBob was also the first square balloon in the Parade!

SMOKEY BEAR

U.S.D.A. FOREST SERVICE

Smokey Bear returns Thanksgiving morning to celebrate another year as the star of the longest-running public service advertising campaign in American history, sharing his extremely important wildfire prevention message.

Balloon Dimensions: 16-feet long, 25-feet wide, 51-feet tall

Fun Fact: The Smokey Bear balloon is so large, approximately 85 average-size black bears could fit inside!

STUART THE MINION

ILLUMINATION

Minion Stuart, from Illumination's blockbuster animated franchise and next summer's Despicable Me 4, causes a little mischief as he makes his way down the Parade route for the second time. If you happen to be dressed as every Minion's favorite food—watch out! Stuart has a craving for bananas that even a Thanksgiving feast can't quash.

Balloon Dimensions: 40-feet long, 28-feet wide, 37-feet tall

Fun Fact: This balloon features Minion Stuart holding an animated man in a banana suit and in 2022 was the first Parade balloon to ever use details created by a 3D printer.

TIPTOE

MACY'S

The star of Macy's holiday campaign, Tiptoe, is making her second Parade appearance as a balloon puppet this Thanksgiving. With the help of puppeteers, her head bobs & legs move as this courageous reindeer prances through the streets of New York City encouraging spectators to believe in themselves.

Fun Fact: In 2021, this larger-than-life version of Tiptoe was the first-ever balloon puppet to march down the route.

UNCLE DAN

ILLUMINATION

Joining the Parade this Thanksgiving is Uncle Dan from Illumination's new action-packed comedy, Migration. This curmudgeonly duck almost never leaves his New England pond. But this holiday season, he and his family will be flying through New York City on their way to Jamaica, for a family vacation like no other.

Balloon Dimensions: 32-feet long, 20-feet wide, 37-feet tall

Fun Fact: The massive sandwich Uncle Dan is holding could make about 7,300 normal-sized sub sandwiches!

BABY DINOs

HF SINCLAIR (Balloonicle)

The three newborn Baby DINOs from Sinclair, an HF Sinclair brand, are anything but prehistoric! The adorable Apatosaurus trio came straight from the nest to once again join the DINO balloon in this year's Thanksgiving celebration.

Fun Fact: Like the DINO balloon, the Baby DINO balloonicles appear in life-size form.

GO BOWLING (Balloonicle)

Ready to roll a strike with Parade fans once again, the Go Bowling balloonicles are the biggest game you'll see on Thanksgiving–literally! Did you know that over 67 million people in the US participate in bowling?

Fun Fact: With 16-foot-tall pins and a 12-foot diameter bowling ball, this Balloonicle is sure to score!

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