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7 Famous Fails of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Posted on by Taylor Reeves
7 Famous Fails of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which was first held on November 27, 1924 (although the event was technically called the Macy’s Christmas Parade for its first three years). The balloons, the floats, the Broadway show numbers, the poorly synchronized pop stars in icy conditions – it’s the perfect start to the holiday season.

But sometimes things go wrong on the parade route. Below are a handful of mishaps from a century of parades, with an emphasis on more recent years where more photos/video are available.

Please note that we have deliberately avoided incidents in which people were seriously injured – and in some cases we mean it. Of course we want a safe and happy parade for everyone!

7. Felix the Cat Bursts in Flames (1927)

The first-ever Macy’s Homemade Balloon Thanksgiving Parade ended with one of the day’s most iconic balloons – cartoon star Felix the Cat – bursting into a fireball.

Luckily it didn’t happen DURING the parade. In the early years of the parade, it was common practice for the balloon handlers to release the balloons into the air after they reached the end of the parade route.

The balloons would then rise into the sky wherever the wind would take them.

If a lucky person found them killed in the wild, they could return them to Macy’s for a $100 gift card (which was a lot of money back then – heck, it’s a decent amount now).

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Felix the Cat was one of the very first balloon characters in the Macy’s Parade almost 100 years ago; Relive his earliest cartoon adventures.

$16 at Amazon.com

6. The 2008 parade gets Rick rolling

This “mistake” was of course entirely intentional, as the parade fell into the current rick-roll trend when the Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends Float was interrupted by the 1987 vocal sensation Rick Astley came out of the set to perform “Never Gonna Give You Up” while children born long after the song’s release reacted in relative confusion.

Bonus points for Matt Lauer’s completely over-the-top comment at the beginning of the clip.

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Get the history and impact of Rick Roll straight from the source with Rick Astley’s autobiography, Never.

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5. Rita Ora blows her Lipysnch performance (2018)

The Macy’s Parade has seen tons of terrible lipsynch performances, and 2018 was a particularly bad year for them.

We highlight Rita here for several reasons. Firstly, because their example is so egregious.

She missed the cue and spent the entire segment lip-syncing a completely different section of the song than the one played on the show; It is a persistent twitching of the whole body.

And second, because it’s Rita Ora, the living embodiment of Fetch. Someone keeps trying to make them come true. This is what you get.

4. Al Roker’s War on Butter

At this point, Al Roker is an integral part of the Macy’s Parade, having covered it for NBC since 1995. He picked up and still carries the baton from Willard Scott, the NBC weatherman of my childhood.

While Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie relax in their well-appointed booth, Al wanders the streets and interacts with the hoi polloi.

And what has become something of a recurring gag is Al getting into a fight with, well, a human-sized piece of butter.

3. Miss Piggy saves Tony Bennett’s life (2016)

Muppets fans have always known that Miss Piggy is a tough cookie.

And as she demonstrated while singing with Tony Bennett at the 2016 parade, she attacks, but she also protects.

When the car suddenly started moving, the 100-year-old Bennett lost her balance and Piggy came to the rescue using her quick reflexes, honed through years of karate.

Just a reminder: Miss Piggy is a puppet. A doll saved international musical treasure Tony Bennett (RIP Tony). Lambchop could never.

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Relive the seasonal songs of the late, great Tony Bennett with this classic Christmas album.

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2. The Nutcracker Becomes a Bouncer (2019)

Winds can wreak havoc on the parade’s giant balloons – more on that in a moment – but in 2019, one particular balloon fought back when the classic Nutcracker vented his aggression over having to drag himself through the middle of New York City by bodyslamming one of his companions .

RuPaul asks us: “Category is: Butch Queen Nutcracker; “Who’s going to crack these nuts?” The nutcracker balloon gave us consistent 10s, darling, and he made them eat it. (NOTE: The volunteer who was knocked to the ground was fine and immediately got back up.)

1. The Day the Dinosaur Died (1997)

There have been many, MANY incidents of balloons being damaged or torn apart before or during the Macy’s parade; The amazing Macy’s Parade wiki has a comprehensive list, and it’s harrowing to read.

All of these beloved characters are put to the test! It pains us to see this. Perhaps the most notable example that did not involve serious injuries came in 1997, when Barney the dinosaur walked through the area due to strong winds.

The handlers tried their best to defeat the purple prehistoric protagonist, but a powerful gust sent him flying straight into a light pole, knocking him out to the horror of a crowd of onlookers.

Oh, HUMANITY. The footage is dramatic but worth watching.

Especially if you were a parent whose young children forced them to play Barney & friends over and over again on repeat. You might actually find some satisfaction in it.

Amazon.com

If the demise of the Barney Balloon gave you a sense of schadenfreude, check out the similarly themed film Death to Smoochy, a black comedy starring Robin Williams and Ed Norton.

$15 at Amazon.com

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