As one of the most famous Parades in the world, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been referenced a number of times in several forms of media. This article compiles all known instances of the Parade being featured or referenced in popular culture.
Film[]
- Perhaps the most popular instance of the Parade being referenced in pop culture its starring role in the 1947 film classic, Miracle on 34th Street. The film's opening scenes heavily feature the 1946 Parade, and featured actor Edmund Gwenn as Santa Claus.
- The 1973 remake would feature footage of that year's Parade, including preperations, making it the only remake to not feature the previous year's Parade.
- Due to Macy's refusing their name to be used in it, the 1994 remake only features a single shot of the beginning of the 1993 Parade.
- In the 1978 film Somebody Killed Her Husband, the climax takes place in the basement of the Herald Square department store. Several Parade props (such as the rabbits from the Watership Down float) appear in the scene.
- In Aladdin, the Parade scene shown during the "Prince Ali" musical number is a reference to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
- In Broadway Danny Rose, a scene of the 1982 Parade making its way along Central Park West was featured.
- In the 1993 animated film We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, Louie disguises the dinosaurs as Macy's Parade floats/balloons, in order to prevent mass panic while they are journeying to the American Museum of Natural History. Balloons such as Spider-Man, Snoopy the Aviator, Woody Woodpecker, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Quik Bunny are seen. Rex hears all the children wishing to see real dinosaurs, but when he sees a Dino balloon come out, he mistakes it for being real, handshakes it with his claws, and causes it to run out of air. The audience realizes that live dinosaurs are among them and panic, so the dinosaur gang escape and flee to Central Park, while simultaneously being pursued by the police.
- The 2016 Ghostbusters remake features a scene where the lead quartet fight off haunted Macy's Parade balloons from the 1930s and 1940s.
- In the 2023 The Bad Guys holiday special The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday, the Bad Guys steal a round Santa Claus balloon, which bears a resemblance to Big Man Santa.
- In the 2023 Netflix film Maestro, Leonard Bernstein and his daughter are watching the Macy's Parade from their apartment building as the Aviator Snoopy balloon passes by, complete with spectators talking amongst each other, amazed by the balloon, including one that reminds his wife, "You're gonna miss Snoopy!"
- In the 2024 film, The Garfield Movie, Garfield is kicked off a train by his father, and gets bounced around to various places, one of those being a balloon resembling the first Garfield balloon.
Television[]
- One of the earliest representations of the Parade in television would be in the Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Jingle Bells Affair", where the 1966 Parade is featured towards the start.
- Footage of the Cootie in 1975 appears in an episode of Animals, Animals, Animals.[1]
- One of the Moxy segments in The Great International Toon-In had the character talk about the Woody Woodpecker balloon's appearance in the 1993 Parade.
- In the Seinfeld episode "The Mom and Pop Store," Elaine wins a spot on the parade route for her boss, Mr. Pitt, to hold the Woody Woodpecker balloon.
- In the 1994 Friends Thanksgiving episode, "The One Where Underdog Got Away," centers around the Underdog balloon escaping the Parade. When the gang goes on the roof to investigate, they become locked out of the apartment.
- In the Histeria! episode "China," , a dragon compares the "cute parades where the lovely little children are dressed up in the long dragon costume" to "those hot air phonies in that Thanksgiving New York hoo-ha thing they do." He also notes an "obnoxious woodpecker schmutz with the stuttering laugh", which is a reference to the Woody Woodpecker balloon, as said balloon, alongside balloons of Fetch and Big Fat Baby pass by in the background.
- In The Simpsons episode "Bart vs. Thanksgiving," Homer is seen watching the parade, with cameo appearances by the balloons of his son Bart, Underdog, and Bullwinkle.
- In 2008, a CGI Coca-Cola ad aired in the United States during Super Bowl XLII. The commercial's plot centered around the Underdog balloon chasing a Coke bottle-shaped balloon through New York City, along with a balloon of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy. The advertisement won a Silver Lion Award at the annual Lions International Advertising Festival in Cannes, France that year.
- In the "Thanksgiving" episode of Family Guy, as the Griffins prepare to sit down for their dinner, Stewie notices a balloon version of himself on a televised parade.
- In the "Turkey Guys" episode of Family Guy, Stewie, Chris, and Peter watch the J.C. Penney Thanksgiving Day Parade on television. When Chris ponders the existence of such a parade, Stewie explains "it's like the Macy's Parade, only without licensed characters." Featured balloons include Mickey Rabbit, SpongeCow, and Clifton the Small Blue Dog; respectively, these are parodies of Mickey Mouse, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Clifford the Big Red Dog.
- In an episode of the 2015 sitcom The Muppets, Kermit the Frog mentions the balloon version of himself that appears in the parade.
- The MAD episode "The Blunder Games" includes a scene where the Charlie Brown and Spider-Man balloons are shown punching and kicking each other. Pikachu and SpongeBob SquarePants are also seen in the background.
- In the MAD episode "The Bourne Leg-A-Turkey", a segment ends with the Talking Turkey riding a motorcycle to freedom, only to find out the road is closed as the Parade begins, with Tom Turkey making a cameo.
- In the television movie Arthur's Perfect Christmas, an Arthur balloon can be spotted during one of Arthur's fantasies, which bears a resemblance to the real Macy's Parade balloon.
- A commercial for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese featured CGI-animated parade balloons of the Cheesasaurus Rex and a teal duck, both handled by macaroni noodles.
- In the show Big City Greens, a parody of the first Garfield balloon can be seen in the episode "Parade Day".
- In the Animaniacs reboot episode "Suspended Animation: Part One", a picture of the second SpongeBob SquarePants balloon in the 2014 Parade can be seen as one of the many panels spinning around Yakko after he eats a tablet.
- In the PAW Patrol episode "Pups Save the Parade", balloon versions of the rescue dogs are shown, including a Chase balloon which bears a resemblance to its real-life counterpart.
- In the The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel episode "Go Forward", footage of the 1961 Parade is shown on a television screen for a few seconds.
- Several episodes of The Muppets Mayhem feature the Electric Mayhem's performance at the 2016 Parade.
Video Games[]
- In Skylanders: Imaginators, the Eruptor balloon makes a cameo in the Sensei Air Realm level, where the player can take selfies with.
- In Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, the Eruptor balloon can be seen in the Off Beat level.
Music[]
- Green Day applied the title "Macy's Day Parade" to the final song on their 2000 studio album Warning. Though it begins with the lyric "Today's the Macy's Day Parade," this song is not about the parade itself, nor does its corresponding music video contain any visual references to the parade.