Hey there! I'm one of the Macy's Parade Wiki's owners and I want to thank you for the kind words! Seeing it used as a source of info for videos like this really makes our work feel worthwhile. Happy Thanksgiving!
The thing that makes Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades more entertaining in hindsight is their time capsule nature. You can watch a parade from any era and get a sense of what kids were into and what was capturing the zeitgeist. Like you, I can never bring myself to watch more than a few minutes of the parade as I'm preparing to clean the house for Thanksgiving, but it's fun watching videos of past years. And yeah, 1997 was a disaster but so was 1993. In that year, a balloon of Rex from We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story was destroyed by a lamp post, as was a Sonic the Hedgehog balloon that injured two people. (The good news is that Sonic was able to respawn from that same lamp post. BA-BOOM!)
I still say one of my favorite media finds was 1991 Macy's Day Parade footage that showed a Rock-a-Doodle float promoting the movie for its original Thanksgiving release, even though the film just got delayed to April of next year.
The Macy's balloons get reused the next day for a parade in Springfield, MA, every year, hometown of Dr. Seuss, so it's kind of a morbid curiosity that the Cat in the Hat is the biggest accident in the main parade's history.
I was at a high school football game the entire time the parade was on so the only time I did see it was the aftermath from clips on the local news, some were even used here.
As a Canadian, I've always been fascinated by America's Thanksgiving fixation. We celebrate Thanksgiving in October and it's basically a throwaway holiday up here.
As an American, I'm not sure I'd agree that we're fixated on it. It's not a throwaway holiday for us (we have a big dinner and - in many cases - visit extended family in celebration), but it gets relatively little merch or movies and TV specials compared to Halloween or Christmas. This parade seems to be the most fanfare Thanksgiving gets here.
I think everyone is fully aware that the Macy’s Parade is 3 hour long commercial, but I get a kick out of it. It’s interesting that Nickelodeon had a presence in the parade during the silver ball era, though it will take awhile to find their stride.
6:37 can you imagine watching the Macy’s day parade while all of a sudden you hear a host accidentally calling your favorite show from a tv network a different name😳
I never realized just how big the popularity gap between Spongebob and FOP was until after the 2000s. The show felt huge at the time, but I guess not big enough for a balloon 😞
Yeah and one thing why pop arena didn’t mention Julius the monkey balloon to promote the show in 2013 and the yo gabba gabba float in 2009 to promote their tour
Pop arena forgot the yo gabba gabba float in 2009 to promote their tour there’s a party in my city and the Julius jr balloon to promote the nick jr show in 2013 why did pop arena didn’t mention them
this video got me on something of a small macy's parade-related rabbit hole [read: browsing the wiki for an extended amount of time], and i did find out that there was a count duckula walk-around in 1989 and 1990. there's a possibility that was sponsored/provided by thames or cosgrove-hall, but i have to imagine nickelodeon had some say in that. in any case, crazy how a british children's show got more parade rep than like, double dare or ren and stimpy
I remember when I was about 6-8, I literally wanted to live in NYC just so I could see the parade every year. Of course, at that age, I had no idea how far away it was from our one horse “town” in rural Minnesota.
11:07 If you didn't know who Chuckie and Spike are you could easily get the two mixed up in that announcer's descript also Tommy and Chuckie both are sitting atop the float so can't really differentiate from those two either.
While it maybe pure commercialism, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with my mom every year. It's the only time we're truly in the holiday spirit.
I'm surprised they didn't lean into doing floats regarding things like Danger Mouse or Duckula, or what ensemble shows they did have. Or having something related to green slime (confined to the float of course), or maybe even a mini agro crag or Olmec.
I Gotta Say, this was a Great Video, as someone who makes content based on the Macy's Parade it is fascinating how Nickelodeon really went from the Puppets of Pinwheel to where they are Now, I also a bit surprised you did not mention some of the Nickelodeon Star that were in the parade on certain floats, minus The Fresh Beat Band, Like Miranda Cosgrove in 2008, Keke Palmer & Yo Gabba Gabba in 2009, Big Time Rush & Victoria Justice in 2010, Rachel Crow & Jennette McCurdy in 2012, Ariana Grande in 2013, & JoJo Siwa and Kat Graham of Rise of the TMNT in 2017 I know there was the Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Balloon promoting some of the Shows that were on Nick, and even Paul Frank's Julius Balloon (Sock Monkey), with Julius Jr. that was on Nick Jr. Either Way, Well Done!
I remember they did a Hi Hi PuffyAmiYumi float. Cartoon Network paid some good money for that, a Dexter balloon and Fosters home for imaginary friends also getting a float
this was a fun watch! Did not realize Nick really got into the parade big time til the 90s, but considering who was in charge previously and her stance on all that stuff, I get it. also yeah watching old parades is definitely a similar vibe to watching old commercials it's like a time capsule/slice of life to what things were like back then!
I am pretty surprised to see the Pinwheel characters make an appearance at the parade given how much Cyril Schneider was against commercialism. I guess promoting the network to get more viewers was important enough to him to make that decision. Great episode though!
Glad to know the wiki helped you. When I created it in 2009, I had no idea how big it would become. I just created it when I was in middle school, did some amature research and then after leaving it to rot for over a decade, other parade fans turned it into quite the extensive fan wiki
another amazing nick knacks. Ive commented before about how amazing i think your work is, but tonight I watched this, the Lassie, Patty Duke and Dennis The Menace episodes with my grandmother and we really bonded over the experience, she loved your recaps of the episodes and editing style. This is truly the best channel on youtube and this Thanksgiving im truly grateful for the work you put out for us. thank you so much.
Fun Fact: Both Chuckie Finster and Jimmy Neutron were in the 2001 Macys Toon Balloon-abration float. They were in costume form and appeared alongside with other characters such as Bugs Bunny, Garfield, Snoopy, Dexter, and Paddinton Bear. Oh and Jeeves from Ask Jeeves was there too.
Ask Jeeves was part of the worst era of the parade when it was all advertising mascots. And not even good or memorable ones. Flash in the pan, early internet crap. I'd say, easily the WORST balloon ever presented in the parade.
my favorite parts of this video were the 1997 balloon failure montage scored with the trademark ominous chanting orchestra, and the discussion about the logic of spongebob looking all wrinkly like he took a bath
the zoom in on the guy in the present costume's dance also gave me a dose of good hearted amusement! this is among the funniest nick knack episodes yet
Thanks for this lovely Thanksgiving treat! As someone who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, we rarely watched the Macy’s parade because the Philadelphia Thanksgiving parade was The Parade to watch. It’s *technically* the oldest, started by Macy’s former rival Gimbels , but it’s had quite an interesting roster of leading sponsors once Gimbels closed in in the mid-’80s: Boscov’s: regional retailer based north of Philly IKEA: this seems completely odd unless you know that the first IKEA in North America was in a Philadelphia suburb Dunkin: truly the strangest pairing, given that Wawa (local, beloved convenience store chain) is RIGHT THERE, but my guess is that DunDo wanted to foster goodwill in the Philly market That said, I got a real shot of nostalgic dopamine from the 1991 segment and seeing Snoopy and Woodstock, as my mom’s cousin (who was godmother to my brother) gave me a Snoopy in that sweater, and I still have him! I mean, I got rid of the sweater--I was just happy to have a pretty accurate-looking Snoopy plushie. Happy holiday season!!
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been my tradition when I got older just cause I really enjoyed seeing what new balloons and floats were going to be in the parade. I still watch it and have enjoyed it EVERY time I watch it. I have several of the 80's and all of the 90's parade recorded from different people but it;'s one of my favorite things to watch on Thanksgiving Day Parade. Thanks for this video. Really cool to see that Pinwheel had a spot in the parade back in 81 and 82. That's really neat to know.
The first and only time I ever went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in person just so happened to be in 1997. Some of the balloons popped before they even got to us like Barny and Kermit. The infamous Cat in the Hat balloon's hat had already popped by the time it came to use; along with most of the balloon having at least one or two body parts deflated. As for the Rugrats balloon it did come "dangerously" close to popping with Tommy's head pressing onto the top of a lamp post just as it was entering our block. Luckily it was able to slowly slide of with no issues. I vividly remember the crowed looking and shouting in horror at that moment along with a big sigh of relief afterwards. In a way being there was a neat experience since the balloons were so low to the ground that parts of some of them were hovering right above use. I even gave the Bigbird balloon a high five and felt the actual material of the balloon. Pretty Cool 😊
@@hbmento8102 Too be honest I didn't see any balloons pop where we were. They all popped ether before or after coming to use and I didn't know when said character popped until after we were heading home. Although the news might of spread to use about Kermit popping before the parade came to our block.(don't remember if I saw Barny) It's been a long time; a lot of those details are fuzzy. I do definitely remember seeing Garfield and the NesQuick Bunny before they got popped. Depends on whether Barny was popped before or after the Cat in the Hat incident.
Wow! I had never knew that since the early 1980’s Nickelodeon was dwindling in their struggling to find themselves for their popularity by appearing in the Macy’s thanksgiving day parade in such an early start before becoming a massive force to be reckoned with in the 90’s. I remember being 4 yrs old first watching the parade in 2003 when Jimmy neutron made his last appearance while little bill made a second appearance during their run in the parade. Thank god bill Cosby wasn’t part of it at that point😅. Fun Fact: 2003 was the time when Nickelodeon was sponsoring the Jimmy float right after Jimmy neutron NICKTOON BLAST had opened to universal studios Orlando.
I can't help but get a sense of "beginning of the end" with the first Spongebob balloon in '04. While the show was soaring in popularity, (not to mention a huge new movie) this was also around the time some of its best writers left, beginning a lengthy decline starting in the 4th season.
The 1981 Parade intro refers to "them" as the "Nickelodeon Puppets" (?!?) Not too much of a nationwide promotion if you ask me. Add a couple of personalities to the lineup the following year only added up to the myth with the network doing diddlely squat in promotion heavily at the time. Makes you wonder if Cy Schinder was at his office desk doing absolutely nothing when this was conceived. Though I found it interesting, the earliest beginnings (1981 & 1982) only added more questions than answers.
Happy Thanksgiving and happy holidays to you, Greg. I remember the Little Bill balloon which I saw in the parade around 2004. Too bad there were no parade floats for some Nicktoon shows like Hey Arnold! Roco’s Modern Life, or The Wild Thornberries. Let’s keep watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade every year and look for more Nickelodeon based floats.
15:21 Coincidentally, in 1983, Kenner toys had a special Strawberry Shortcake/Care Bears week and on that week, they had a sweepstakes that had the exact same deal, with only one family winning the grand prize of a trip to New York City for the Macy's Parade. The commercial for that is also found here on RUclips. Also, Greg, why were you so shocked at seeing the happy, smug face of Bill Cosby?
Yeah, really! Leave that poor Bill alone! He's done his time. He's paid his price. Now it's time to move on and remember for him for what's he's known for on the screen and not behind the sheets. He's no rapist! Black lives matter!
16:53 Fun? fact: the guy playing SpongeBob has been involved with another Nickelodeon property... Ariana Grande. He's the other part in the reason why Ariana and her husband got a divorce earlier this year.
1997 was one of the best years ever, it's a shame someone had to suffer damage from what otherwise would have been a laughable part of the amazing year.
The balloons, the annual Sesame Street appearance, and a couple floats are the only thing I care about. I'm going to probably miss most of this one this year, but I really stopped caring. I'm excited to see Luffy as a balloon (as it's finally popular over here) and the Turtles set-piece, but I'm glad to skip the AWFUL bro country songs that are either a list of Southern cliches or euphemisms for porking in the back of a pick up truck (you know, for KIDS!) That said, seeing that footage of Barney getting torn apart NEVER gets old. Shame we lost Sonic and Cat in the hat to the same windstorm, but they took down the most annoying preschool character of the time.
Ive never seen anything like this other than the vague periphery of usamericans posting about this parade online, this is the first time I've looked at these balloons for a long time and got dizzy thinking about how much plastic and helium go into making a single one of these things
I've heard of the parade, while on a different continent and never having been in the Americas (or Oceania or either poles) for that matter, but I've been a little curious about... Well, what it was about!
It happened in front of the Dakota building where Sean and Yoko Ono were watching from their window wishing it was John Lennon's killer that got busted and not the Cat in the Hat.
Very interesting. I never really cared about the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I knew it was an American tradition, but I just never bothered to really figure out what it was all about, so I appreciated the history lesson. Entertaining as always. I vaguely remember appreciating the Pikachu balloon when I heard about it as a kid because I was hyperfixated on Pokemon, and it served as a sort of identity representation for me. I suppose much could be said about how capitalism creates that kind of strong identification with commercial brands. At the same time, there's a sociological element where kids can get something out of seeing nods to their commercial interests in these kinds of displays with a sort of "representation matters" effect. It's not a matter of social justice, but it's real to the people experiencing it. I imagine there are a lot of kids who really got something out of seeing that Rugrats balloon as a recognition of something of their world having value in the wider American social sphere. And, hey, you said you had a lot of siblings? It's always possible you could be an aunt or uncle some day, and with your deep appreciation of children's media, you'd probably be the coolest one ever. :) As for the Chase balloon? All Chases are balloons. It was inevitable he would eventually wind up here.
It's mostly just companies/productions/singers showing their brands/IPs/songs in the form of floats, balloons, song performances, and drumlines. Every performance isn't exclusively for promoting a brand or a show though, sometimes it's schools showing their talent.
It befuddles me that Mario, one of the biggest brands in the world can’t get a spot in these parades, in spite of Pokemon getting multiple appearances in the same timeframe. You have lots of characters that have stood the test of time culturally on display here. Mickey Mouse, DC Comics characters, Spongebob, Snoopy, Bugs Bunny, Thomas The Tank Engine, Pikachu, Goku, and more! Is Mario not apart of that group? Nintendo has a billion dollar grossing animated film, two theme parks in America and Japan with a third on the way, along with the long running video games that made the series famous to begin with. And it’s not like Mario is less popular now then he was in 1997 or 2005, Mario in the last 7 or so years has been bigger than even the monolithic Wii and DS era of the late 2000’s! My personal guess is that it’s a licensing issue between Nintendo and Macy’s.
Hey there! I'm one of the Macy's Parade Wiki's owners and I want to thank you for the kind words! Seeing it used as a source of info for videos like this really makes our work feel worthwhile. Happy Thanksgiving!
The thing that makes Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades more entertaining in hindsight is their time capsule nature. You can watch a parade from any era and get a sense of what kids were into and what was capturing the zeitgeist. Like you, I can never bring myself to watch more than a few minutes of the parade as I'm preparing to clean the house for Thanksgiving, but it's fun watching videos of past years.
And yeah, 1997 was a disaster but so was 1993. In that year, a balloon of Rex from We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story was destroyed by a lamp post, as was a Sonic the Hedgehog balloon that injured two people. (The good news is that Sonic was able to respawn from that same lamp post. BA-BOOM!)
Yeah the parades are like time capsules for what was going on the entertainment world at those times
It's a bloody crime that we haven't had a Super Mario themed balloon, knowing how popular he is in the gaming world.
You'd think after a billion dollar movie and a new beloved game in the franchise, they would finally get with the program...
i mean if Goku and Luffy can get balloons..
At least we have Pikachu.
I mean, all that really means is that Nintendo DGAF about the Macy's Parade?
There's been Mario themed balloons, what are you talking about?
I still say one of my favorite media finds was 1991 Macy's Day Parade footage that showed a Rock-a-Doodle float promoting the movie for its original Thanksgiving release, even though the film just got delayed to April of next year.
The Macy's balloons get reused the next day for a parade in Springfield, MA, every year, hometown of Dr. Seuss, so it's kind of a morbid curiosity that the Cat in the Hat is the biggest accident in the main parade's history.
Agreed 🎉
huh so they reuse them all?
This year, I'm thankful for Pop Arena for giving us great content all year round!
Considering this shit year, what ELSE is there even to be thankful for?
Yeah PopArena is one of my current favorite RUclipsrs
Macy's Parades are such timeless even if they are just fancy ads for the Department Store and Black Friday. I still love it tho.
Okay, the 1997 sequence had me laughing so hard I have coffee in my nose.
I was at a high school football game the entire time the parade was on so the only time I did see it was the aftermath from clips on the local news, some were even used here.
As a Canadian, I've always been fascinated by America's Thanksgiving fixation. We celebrate Thanksgiving in October and it's basically a throwaway holiday up here.
As an American, I'm not sure I'd agree that we're fixated on it. It's not a throwaway holiday for us (we have a big dinner and - in many cases - visit extended family in celebration), but it gets relatively little merch or movies and TV specials compared to Halloween or Christmas. This parade seems to be the most fanfare Thanksgiving gets here.
@@adamdavis1648Yeah, you don't see Mars or Hershey making chocolate turkeys.
It's not that important a holiday, it's big but there's actually very little culture surrounding it
Different thing same name.
8:46 I think Doug just wondered in like "Hey? Is this the Nickelodeon Float?" and the clowns are like "Holy shit, Jim Jinkins is that you?"
Detroit's Thanksgiving Parade was always what we watched.
It's so weird to hear knick-knack talk about Paw Patrol and Baby Shark. I think this is the frist time this series brought up anything modern nick jr
The best Macy's Parade was, and remains, the one where the Foster's Float Rickrolled everyone, with the real Astley.
I remember that!
Yes!
I think everyone is fully aware that the Macy’s Parade is 3 hour long commercial, but I get a kick out of it. It’s interesting that Nickelodeon had a presence in the parade during the silver ball era, though it will take awhile to find their stride.
Goku from Dragon Ball has a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon!
Fun fact the Rugrats balloon was the very first time in Macy Thanksgiving history to have three characters on it.
THE 97th MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE, TOMORROW MORNING AT 8:30 ON NBC!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!
SPONGEBOB MAKING HIS 19TH APPEARANCE THIS YEAR! Next Year will be his 20th Appearance!
6:37 can you imagine watching the Macy’s day parade while all of a sudden you hear a host accidentally calling your favorite show from a tv network a different name😳
I'm surprised there were no Fairly Oddparents or Loud House appearances.
I never realized just how big the popularity gap between Spongebob and FOP was until after the 2000s. The show felt huge at the time, but I guess not big enough for a balloon 😞
Yeah and one thing why pop arena didn’t mention Julius the monkey balloon to promote the show in 2013 and the yo gabba gabba float in 2009 to promote their tour
Pop arena forgot the yo gabba gabba float in 2009 to promote their tour there’s a party in my city and the Julius jr balloon to promote the nick jr show in 2013 why did pop arena didn’t mention them
My brother cried and my parents cheered when Barney popped.
With how many floats and balloons they have Im surprised Fairly OddParents and The Loud House havent appeared
I’m surprised that the SpongeBob balloon didn’t get introduced years earlier. As early as 2001, SpongeBob was a cartoon powerhouse.
They underestimated just how commercially big the the show would become.
i was expecting at least around 2002 or 2003, but i guess it took the movie in 2004 to get spongebob as a float!!! X3
Sponge Bob is dead. The guy responsible for it died from ALS, a cruel and thoughtless disease!
@@PeridotFan64 19:50 Hello Kitty will be Like Wow Why Am i In the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? an- HOLY SHOOT, Yuko Yamaguchi is that You?
this video got me on something of a small macy's parade-related rabbit hole [read: browsing the wiki for an extended amount of time], and i did find out that there was a count duckula walk-around in 1989 and 1990. there's a possibility that was sponsored/provided by thames or cosgrove-hall, but i have to imagine nickelodeon had some say in that. in any case, crazy how a british children's show got more parade rep than like, double dare or ren and stimpy
I remember when I was about 6-8, I literally wanted to live in NYC just so I could see the parade every year.
Of course, at that age, I had no idea how far away it was from our one horse “town” in rural Minnesota.
11:07 If you didn't know who Chuckie and Spike are you could easily get the two mixed up in that announcer's descript also Tommy and Chuckie both are sitting atop the float so can't really differentiate from those two either.
While it maybe pure commercialism, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with my mom every year. It's the only time we're truly in the holiday spirit.
I'm surprised they didn't lean into doing floats regarding things like Danger Mouse or Duckula, or what ensemble shows they did have.
Or having something related to green slime (confined to the float of course), or maybe even a mini agro crag or Olmec.
Danger Mouse and Count Duckula actually both appeared as costumed characters in the 80s and 90s.
I Gotta Say, this was a Great Video, as someone who makes content based on the Macy's Parade it is fascinating how Nickelodeon really went from the Puppets of Pinwheel to where they are Now, I also a bit surprised you did not mention some of the Nickelodeon Star that were in the parade on certain floats, minus The Fresh Beat Band,
Like Miranda Cosgrove in 2008, Keke Palmer & Yo Gabba Gabba in 2009, Big Time Rush & Victoria Justice in 2010, Rachel Crow & Jennette McCurdy in 2012, Ariana Grande in 2013, & JoJo Siwa and Kat Graham of Rise of the TMNT in 2017
I know there was the Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Balloon promoting some of the Shows that were on Nick, and even Paul Frank's Julius Balloon (Sock Monkey), with Julius Jr. that was on Nick Jr.
Either Way, Well Done!
I’m amazed Taz-Mania got a float. Not Taz, I know he’s popular, but THE TAZ-MANIA SHOW, which is genuinely a curio these days.
I remember they did a Hi Hi PuffyAmiYumi float. Cartoon Network paid some good money for that, a Dexter balloon and Fosters home for imaginary friends also getting a float
Fox Kids premiere it.
18:12 so nickelodeon does own the smurf's now
this was a fun watch! Did not realize Nick really got into the parade big time til the 90s, but considering who was in charge previously and her stance on all that stuff, I get it. also yeah watching old parades is definitely a similar vibe to watching old commercials it's like a time capsule/slice of life to what things were like back then!
What a heartwarming wanton waste of precious non-renewable helium.
I am pretty surprised to see the Pinwheel characters make an appearance at the parade given how much Cyril Schneider was against commercialism. I guess promoting the network to get more viewers was important enough to him to make that decision. Great episode though!
Glad to know the wiki helped you. When I created it in 2009, I had no idea how big it would become. I just created it when I was in middle school, did some amature research and then after leaving it to rot for over a decade, other parade fans turned it into quite the extensive fan wiki
another amazing nick knacks. Ive commented before about how amazing i think your work is, but tonight I watched this, the Lassie, Patty Duke and Dennis The Menace episodes with my grandmother and we really bonded over the experience, she loved your recaps of the episodes and editing style. This is truly the best channel on youtube and this Thanksgiving im truly grateful for the work you put out for us. thank you so much.
Fun Fact: Both Chuckie Finster and Jimmy Neutron were in the 2001 Macys Toon Balloon-abration float. They were in costume form and appeared alongside with other characters such as Bugs Bunny, Garfield, Snoopy, Dexter, and Paddinton Bear. Oh and Jeeves from Ask Jeeves was there too.
Ask Jeeves was part of the worst era of the parade when it was all advertising mascots. And not even good or memorable ones. Flash in the pan, early internet crap. I'd say, easily the WORST balloon ever presented in the parade.
It's bloody murder that Betty Boop wasn't included in that float!
I’ve always love the Macy parade
Me too!
my favorite parts of this video were the 1997 balloon failure montage scored with the trademark ominous chanting orchestra, and the discussion about the logic of spongebob looking all wrinkly like he took a bath
the zoom in on the guy in the present costume's dance also gave me a dose of good hearted amusement! this is among the funniest nick knack episodes yet
It's the Macy's Day parade, the night of the living dead is on it's way...
Green Day sometimes has great songs!
HAPPY TO SEE MUTANT MAYHEM AND GOOD BURGER IN THE PARADE THIS YEAR!
Pop arena you’ve forgot the yo gabba gabba float in 2009
You forgot the yo gabba gabba float in 2009
Thanks for this lovely Thanksgiving treat!
As someone who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, we rarely watched the Macy’s parade because the Philadelphia Thanksgiving parade was The Parade to watch. It’s *technically* the oldest, started by Macy’s former rival Gimbels , but it’s had quite an interesting roster of leading sponsors once Gimbels closed in in the mid-’80s:
Boscov’s: regional retailer based north of Philly
IKEA: this seems completely odd unless you know that the first IKEA in North America was in a Philadelphia suburb
Dunkin: truly the strangest pairing, given that Wawa (local, beloved convenience store chain) is RIGHT THERE, but my guess is that DunDo wanted to foster goodwill in the Philly market
That said, I got a real shot of nostalgic dopamine from the 1991 segment and seeing Snoopy and Woodstock, as my mom’s cousin (who was godmother to my brother) gave me a Snoopy in that sweater, and I still have him! I mean, I got rid of the sweater--I was just happy to have a pretty accurate-looking Snoopy plushie.
Happy holiday season!!
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been my tradition when I got older just cause I really enjoyed seeing what new balloons and floats were going to be in the parade. I still watch it and have enjoyed it EVERY time I watch it. I have several of the 80's and all of the 90's parade recorded from different people but it;'s one of my favorite things to watch on Thanksgiving Day Parade. Thanks for this video. Really cool to see that Pinwheel had a spot in the parade back in 81 and 82. That's really neat to know.
1997, the great balloon massacre
I LOVE THIS PARADE EVERY THANKSGIVING!
This is certainly not a topic I figured you'd tackle, but this is important none the less. Good work as always, Greg.
I remember the 1982 appearance with Moose, Fred, and the Pinwheel characters- but good catch on 1981. True blink and you miss.
At least Moose was away from Ross, for a time.
The first and only time I ever went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in person just so happened to be in 1997. Some of the balloons popped before they even got to us like Barny and Kermit. The infamous Cat in the Hat balloon's hat had already popped by the time it came to use; along with most of the balloon having at least one or two body parts deflated. As for the Rugrats balloon it did come "dangerously" close to popping with Tommy's head pressing onto the top of a lamp post just as it was entering our block. Luckily it was able to slowly slide of with no issues. I vividly remember the crowed looking and shouting in horror at that moment along with a big sigh of relief afterwards. In a way being there was a neat experience since the balloons were so low to the ground that parts of some of them were hovering right above use. I even gave the Bigbird balloon a high five and felt the actual material of the balloon. Pretty Cool 😊
Could you please tell us about your experience during The Day that Barney Died? What a tragic sight 😢
@@hbmento8102 Too be honest I didn't see any balloons pop where we were. They all popped ether before or after coming to use and I didn't know when said character popped until after we were heading home. Although the news might of spread to use about Kermit popping before the parade came to our block.(don't remember if I saw Barny) It's been a long time; a lot of those details are fuzzy. I do definitely remember seeing Garfield and the NesQuick Bunny before they got popped. Depends on whether Barny was popped before or after the Cat in the Hat incident.
What about Nick stars like Big Time Rush?
Imagine if Ren & Stimpy were in the parade at some point.
Especially in 1997...
If they took The Cat and the Hat's place, they would be banned for life.
Wait, has Peppa Pig never had a Macy's balloon?
The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and Nickelodeon are great together on Thanksgiving Day. 😀👍🦃
Greg saying the word "exploring" with the Dora float on screen made me laugh more than it should have.
Wow! I had never knew that since the early 1980’s Nickelodeon was dwindling in their struggling to find themselves for their popularity by appearing in the Macy’s thanksgiving day parade in such an early start before becoming a massive force to be reckoned with in the 90’s. I remember being 4 yrs old first watching the parade in 2003 when Jimmy neutron made his last appearance while little bill made a second appearance during their run in the parade. Thank god bill Cosby wasn’t part of it at that point😅.
Fun Fact: 2003 was the time when Nickelodeon was sponsoring the Jimmy float right after Jimmy neutron NICKTOON BLAST had opened to universal studios Orlando.
2003 also saw the death of Blue from Blue's Clues because of rabies.
10:13
Coincidentally, Matrix Marketing is also the only form of marketing NBCUniversal seems to know
I can't help but get a sense of "beginning of the end" with the first Spongebob balloon in '04. While the show was soaring in popularity, (not to mention a huge new movie) this was also around the time some of its best writers left, beginning a lengthy decline starting in the 4th season.
The 1981 Parade intro refers to "them" as the "Nickelodeon Puppets" (?!?) Not too much of a nationwide promotion if you ask me. Add a couple of personalities to the lineup the following year only added up to the myth with the network doing diddlely squat in promotion heavily at the time. Makes you wonder if Cy Schinder was at his office desk doing absolutely nothing when this was conceived. Though I found it interesting, the earliest beginnings (1981 & 1982) only added more questions than answers.
Happy Thanksgiving and happy holidays to you, Greg. I remember the Little Bill balloon which I saw in the parade around 2004. Too bad there were no parade floats for some Nicktoon shows like Hey Arnold! Roco’s Modern Life, or The Wild Thornberries. Let’s keep watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade every year and look for more Nickelodeon based floats.
15:21 Coincidentally, in 1983, Kenner toys had a special Strawberry Shortcake/Care Bears week and on that week, they had a sweepstakes that had the exact same deal, with only one family winning the grand prize of a trip to New York City for the Macy's Parade. The commercial for that is also found here on RUclips. Also, Greg, why were you so shocked at seeing the happy, smug face of Bill Cosby?
Yeah, really! Leave that poor Bill alone! He's done his time. He's paid his price. Now it's time to move on and remember for him for what's he's known for on the screen and not behind the sheets. He's no rapist! Black lives matter!
Happy thanksgiving Gregory
More balloons!
Yo Gabba Gabba was in the parade as well!
I do remember that blue's balloon
16:53 Fun? fact: the guy playing SpongeBob has been involved with another Nickelodeon property... Ariana Grande. He's the other part in the reason why Ariana and her husband got a divorce earlier this year.
Interestingly heehaw!
7:19 Would this technically be the first time Jim Jinkins and Fred Newman worked together?
1997 was one of the best years ever, it's a shame someone had to suffer damage from what otherwise would have been a laughable part of the amazing year.
Poor lady
My family watches the macys thanksgiving day parade every single year as our tradition
Thanks for covering this. Can you do something on Macy's display windows. Or maybe about Disney channel old shows or Disneyland or maybe knotts..
Pop arena you forgot the Julius balloon from 2011 to 2013
The balloons, the annual Sesame Street appearance, and a couple floats are the only thing I care about. I'm going to probably miss most of this one this year, but I really stopped caring. I'm excited to see Luffy as a balloon (as it's finally popular over here) and the Turtles set-piece, but I'm glad to skip the AWFUL bro country songs that are either a list of Southern cliches or euphemisms for porking in the back of a pick up truck (you know, for KIDS!) That said, seeing that footage of Barney getting torn apart NEVER gets old. Shame we lost Sonic and Cat in the hat to the same windstorm, but they took down the most annoying preschool character of the time.
My Mom and I watch The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade every Year on NBC KARE 11 and WCCO 4 CBS Minnesota!❤️📺🎶🎄👍🏻
Me too!
Enhypen preformed the song for the baby sharks big movie to promote the baby sharks big movie
Next year Lincoln Loud should replace SpongeBob as Nick's representative
Also between 1982 and 1991, Nick At Nite and Nick Jr began
Music you had playing for the death of the balloon smh. Lol..
That jump scare 😂 😨
Also according to Macy's parade wiki, Stimpy was also there in 1991!
Ive never seen anything like this other than the vague periphery of usamericans posting about this parade online, this is the first time I've looked at these balloons for a long time and got dizzy thinking about how much plastic and helium go into making a single one of these things
I've heard of the parade, while on a different continent and never having been in the Americas (or Oceania or either poles) for that matter, but I've been a little curious about... Well, what it was about!
In 1997 the winds were awful to the parade’s balloons (because of what happened to Barney)
You forgot to mention yo gabba gabba! It was made by Nickelodeon and made only one appearance in 2009
Ed McMahon's infamous Pinwheel debacle
Was the Wubulous World of Dr. Seuss the reason for the Cat in the Hat in 97?
Yeah!
Jim Henson had that.
It happened in front of the Dakota building where Sean and Yoko Ono were watching from their window wishing it was John Lennon's killer that got busted and not the Cat in the Hat.
Thanks for sharing!
Great video 🎉
Hey you r back with another good one. ❤❤❤
Nickelodeon was in the parade since Pinwheel was on. That's a really long time ago.
I’m still annoyed that Doctor Who didn’t show at this years parade
These are more so characters from shows, not so much Nickelodeon.
200k for that many eyes isnt too bad of a price.
I think I am the only one alive that has no love for SpongeBob. I think i resent that he was more popular than Rocko, which is my favorite.
I am thankful for love, peace and happiness and I hope you have a great and safe Thanksgiving. God Bless and Amen. 🙏🦃
7:56
Balloon
Very interesting. I never really cared about the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I knew it was an American tradition, but I just never bothered to really figure out what it was all about, so I appreciated the history lesson. Entertaining as always.
I vaguely remember appreciating the Pikachu balloon when I heard about it as a kid because I was hyperfixated on Pokemon, and it served as a sort of identity representation for me. I suppose much could be said about how capitalism creates that kind of strong identification with commercial brands. At the same time, there's a sociological element where kids can get something out of seeing nods to their commercial interests in these kinds of displays with a sort of "representation matters" effect. It's not a matter of social justice, but it's real to the people experiencing it. I imagine there are a lot of kids who really got something out of seeing that Rugrats balloon as a recognition of something of their world having value in the wider American social sphere.
And, hey, you said you had a lot of siblings? It's always possible you could be an aunt or uncle some day, and with your deep appreciation of children's media, you'd probably be the coolest one ever. :)
As for the Chase balloon? All Chases are balloons. It was inevitable he would eventually wind up here.
It's mostly just companies/productions/singers showing their brands/IPs/songs in the form of floats, balloons, song performances, and drumlines. Every performance isn't exclusively for promoting a brand or a show though, sometimes it's schools showing their talent.
Disney
It befuddles me that Mario, one of the biggest brands in the world can’t get a spot in these parades, in spite of Pokemon getting multiple appearances in the same timeframe.
You have lots of characters that have stood the test of time culturally on display here. Mickey Mouse, DC Comics characters, Spongebob, Snoopy, Bugs Bunny, Thomas The Tank Engine, Pikachu, Goku, and more! Is Mario not apart of that group?
Nintendo has a billion dollar grossing animated film, two theme parks in America and Japan with a third on the way, along with the long running video games that made the series famous to begin with.
And it’s not like Mario is less popular now then he was in 1997 or 2005, Mario in the last 7 or so years has been bigger than even the monolithic Wii and DS era of the late 2000’s! My personal guess is that it’s a licensing issue between Nintendo and Macy’s.
Cool.