As previously stated in this blog, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a Thanksgiving tradition as much as turkey and pumpkin pie. This year marks the 90th march of the parade with floats, celebrities, and the stars of the parade, the giant larger than life balloons of famous iconic cartoon characters like Snoopy, Spongebob, and Pikachu. This year one of the new additions is a recreation of what is supposedly the first Macy's balloon in the parade, Felix the Cat. But was Felix the first balloon???
Macy's historian, Robert M Grippo, begs to differ. His Facebook page, The Big Parade History Project, has come across some interesting facts based on his research. The Felix the Cat balloon that we saw in pictures in 1927 which the new balloon recreates is not that of the Macy's Parade, but rather a parade in New Jersey, just across the river from the Big Apple. It's unsure how or why the mistake was made. Perhaps someone at the time mis-organized some old photos way back when and have it say "Macy's Parade, 1927" at the time. I don't know. Macy's, however, took that as a fact that Felix was the first balloon and continues to use that theory to this day. Grippo has currently been accusing the staff at Macy's for lying to us and not changing their facts. Why Macy's have not come to grip of the truth behind the "first balloon" is a mystery. That doesn't mean Macy's never had a Felix balloon. In 1931, Felix flew in the Macy's parade as the first cartoon character to fly, but by then it was too late for Felix anyways (explained later in the blog). This version had him on an all fours position rather than standing up right like his official cartoon counterpart.
And if I may add some additional research, above is a picture of a supposed Wheeling Christmas parade in the 1920's. This photo, courtesy of the Church of the Diocese in Wheeling, WV , shows a Felix the Cat balloon similar to that of a photo from a New Jersey parade in 1927 which became known as Macy's "first balloon". Could this have been more of a cooperate balloon available for use by all communities? I tend to think so. If it was the first Macy's balloon, it would have been much bigger than this, and it would have been specially made for the occasion. If multiple Felix balloons flew in parades across the country, there would have been no way this was a Macy's balloon. Here's hoping Macy's changes their minds soon and fix their errors because if they were wrong with this fact, what else in history is wrong????
Although this is the 90th Macy's parade, this isn't the 90th Anniversary of the event. The parade started in 1924 at first called the Macy's Christmas Parade and featured performers such as clowns and live animals. The live animals were dropped in 1927 and replaced with larger than life giant helium balloons that graced the skies of New York City. The parade has also been known as the Macy's Santa Claus Parade in the mid 1930's before becoming the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Here's where the number 90 comes in, during the war years of WWII wartime restrictions included rubber and helium, and the Macy's parade had to abide by these restrictions, so no parades marched those years. Hence, subtracting the WWII years making in the magic 90. Still, it makes it easier to remember my grandma's age (wink wink). With the exception of the early years, only one Macy's parade accrued without any balloons, 1971, due to high winds. A few more close calls also came for Macy's. A major snowstorm hit New York in 1989 causing snow and ice throughout the parade route. In 2001, a major devastation hit New York on 9/11 when alleged hijackers attacked the World Trade Center among other terrorist attacks in our country that day killing around 3,000 people. This led to question if the parade would go on that year, but it did with some help of a New York City police officer singing our national anthem.
And with many cartoon characters taking over today's world such as Anna and Elsa, The Lion Guard, Spongebob, Pokemon, and Teen Titans Go, it's hard to imagine when animated cartoons started out and Felix was among big names of the time. Otto Messmer created Felix in 1919 as a one shot character for Pat Sullivan's studio (the cat would commit suicide at the end), but quickly became the number 1 cartoon character in the 1920's. The mischievous cat would get away with anything using cartoon antics of the time. But by the late 1920's, sound became the enemy of Felix as Steamboat Willie became the first cartoon with synchronized sound and introduced the world to Mickey Mouse. Mickey's popularity instantly rose, and Felix's went down the tube. Despite trying to get into sound, the end of Felix came in 1930. A few attempts to bring him back came about including a comic strip and comic books. Van Buren Studios tried to bring him back in 1936, but failed miserably due to the closure of the studio. In the late 1950's, Joseph Oriolo brought Felix back in a TV series. This time with a magic bag of tricks that became his signature. Felix returned again in the 1970's as a live action children's show. In the late 80's, a movie starring Felix was made, but caused major criticism for being loud, obnoxious, and making no sense. Some more attempts were made to bring him back, but none could match his success in the 1920's. Felix wasn't totally forgotten however. In 2015, one of the Miraculous Ladybug characters was almost named after Felix since he looked like a black cat as Cat Noir. That character would later be named Adrian. In 2014, Dreamworks animation acquired the rights to Felix the Cat. Dreamworks has since been acquired by Universal in 2016 and thus they inherited Felix among other characters. While Macy's may be wrong with who was the first balloon, seeing Felix fly for the first time in many years is a welcoming addition to the parade this year.
Some other entries this year include new versions of Charlie Brown and Diary of a Whimpy Kid, Dreamworks Trolls, The West Virginia University Marching Band, Tony Bennett, The Muppets, and many more. The parade will march Thursday at 9am and will air on NBC and CBS (under a different name).
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