Arrtle the Pirate is an original Macy’s character balloon from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Arrtle lives on a pirate ship in New York Harbor and ensures his doubloons are safely locked up before his Thanksgiving trip to the big city,[1] where he arrives at the Parade staging area by way of taxi.[2] In one instance, Arrtle recreates the famed "I'm Flying" scene from Titanic with Matilda, implying a romantic relationship.[3]
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Pirate (1947-1948)[]
The original Pirate balloon set sail down Broadway for the first time in the 1947 Parade, being recycled from the Pilgrim balloon that had flown a year prior. The balloon’s design featured a 40-foot tall grimacing pirate with a treasure chest full of helium—4,000 cubic feet of it, to be exact. Keeping him in line was his own crew of 20 swashbuckling sailors.
In January 1948, the Pirate set sail to Los Angeles, California, where he would appear in the March of Dimes Parade alongside a contingent of other Macy’s balloon characters, courtesy of Goodyear and Macy's themselves. The balloons, who were on loan to Warner Bros. for the event, soared down Wilshire Boulevard to the delight of the crowd.[4] The Pirate made another appearance in New York later that year, and was subsequently retired from the line of march and later disposed of.
Arrtle the Pirate (2007-2010, 2015, 2018, 2021)[]
In 2007, a recreation of the Pirate balloon debuted as part of the Parade’s heritage balloon program, which reinvents classic Macy’s characters for a new audience. Now identified as Arrtle the Pirate (named after master balloonatic Jim Artle), the bouncing buccaneer measures 36 feet tall and 24.5 feet wide, and is filled with 3,600 cubic feet of helium surely plundered from various tanks.[5] The one-eyed seafarer was sponsored by Universal Orlando Resort, where he and a dozen other balloons and floats would appear in the Macy’s Holiday Parade. The balloon appeared annually in the event through the 2010 holiday season.
Arrtle continued to peg-leg it down the streets of New York City until 2010, when the balloon was retired. It was later placed into storage at Macy’s Parade Studio, where it was last confirmed to exist in November 2016.[6]
Arrtle was planned to Return in 2013, but he was cut from the Lineup.
In 2015, Arrtle continued on his search for holiday treasure as a duplicate balloon created by Raven Aerostar of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.[7] The balloon made subsequent appearances in 2018 and 2021; it was also planned to appear in the reimagined 2020 Parade, however a reduction of participants due to COVID-19 meant the Arrtle balloon, in addition to several other novelties, were cut from the lineup.
See also[]
- Jolly Polly Pirate Ship, a float that often appears with Arrtle
- Pirate Plankster Clowns, the unofficial crew of Arrtle the Pirate
References[]
- ↑ alcheh&hunt. "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2013 (2 of 3)." YouTube.com. April 14, 2015.
- ↑ alcheh&hunt. "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2013 (3 of 3)." YouTube.com. April 14, 2015.
- ↑ Macy's. "Let’s March." YouTube.com. November 19, 2014.
- ↑ "Dimes Parade Along Wilshire Set Tomorrow." Hollywood Citizen News. January 17, 1948.
- ↑ "Rise of the Giants" press release, Macy's, Inc. November 2009.
- ↑ SmugMug gallery from KAdamsbaum.
- ↑ Schwan, Jodie "Raven remakes old favorites for Macy's Parade." Argus Leader. November 25, 2015.