Raggedy Ann is a character created by American writer Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938) that appeared in a series of books written and illustrated for young children. Raggedy Ann is a rag-doll with red yarn for hair and a triangle nose. The character was created in 1915 as a doll, and was introduced to the public in the 1918 book Raggedy Ann Stories. When a doll was marketed with the book, the concept had great success, which led to a sequel, Raggedy Andy Stories releasing in 1920, while also introducing her brother, Raggedy Andy to the cast. Further characters such as Beloved Belindy, a black mammy doll, were featured as dolls and characters in books, with the series continuing until 1938, the year Gruelle passed away.
To date, Raggedy Ann has remained one of the most recognizable doll characters, with the franchise being adapted into short films (like 1941's Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy) to stage musicals, such as the Broadway production Raggedy Ann (1986). The character proved so notable, that she was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York, on March 27th, 2002. Her brother, Raggedy Andy, was inducted five years later on November 8th, 2007.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Raggedy Ann and Friends (1975)[]
The Raggedy Ann franchise made its Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade debut at the 1975 Parade, with a float created for the franchise's 60th anniversary. The float design was of Raggedy Ann and Andy, alongside many of their doll friends, gathered around in a garden near a large flower. It would receive an additional sponsor in 1976, that being 20th Century Fox, and the float retired after the 1977 Parade, and was disposed of years later, both Raggedy Ann and Andy appearing as walk arounds during the 1981 Parade.
Raggedy Ann (1984)[]
In 1983, Kemp Balloons, Inc. were commissioned to make a giant Raggedy Ann balloon for that year's Parade. However, it would turn out during development that the curls of her hair would've made the balloon too top-heavy, and as a result, the balloon was scrapped. The following year, now with Raven Aerostar at the helm of the balloon making business, the idea of a Raggedy Ann balloon would be finally realized, as she would eventually return to the Parade after a three year absence in 1984, as the first of two giant balloons made by Raven for the Parade.
The Raggedy Ann balloon's new coat of paint in 1991.
Construction of the balloon began in May 1984, and was a reported challenge to make, given it took Aerostar six months to complete. The design, which was of her waving to the crowd, was sponsored by ITT's Character Licensing, Inc. and stood 62 feet tall, 32 feet wide and carried 12,000 cubic feet of helium. By November, the balloon was finished, and took two test flights, one in the DakotaDome, and one outdoors at the Steven's Institute of Technology, with the latter being used on NBC's official broadcast of the Parade as part of the pre-Parade entertainment. It would then make its grand debut at the 1984 Parade. There would be trouble with attempts at inflating the balloon's collar, before they decided to just let it fly deflated. Despite this, the balloon would end up delighting the crowd below as she led the way for Santa Claus.
Raggedy Ann was promoted to the lead position for the 1985 Parade, and starting that year would have a new sponsor - MacMillan, who would also sponsor her for the 1986 Parade, which was also where the balloon experienced it's first incident. Before the Parade started, the balloon was swept into a lamppost, puncturing its hand and causing the light to collapse. Despite the incident, the balloon would continue to 34th Street. Following the 1986 Parade, the balloon was retired from the main Parade, for the time being.
Despite the retirement, the Raggedy Ann balloon would still see usage for other Macy's organized Parades and test flights. The first of these came on November 8th, 1987, when it was flown at the Steven's Institute of Technology for training purposes, which would also occur on November 5th, 1988. A month later, in December 1988, the balloon was chosen as one of three balloons to be used for that year's Macy's-Egleston Christmas Parade, alongside Snoopy and the Quik Bunny. She would reappear at the 1989 Egleston Parade, now joining the Garfield and Spider-Man balloons, before being retired from the Parade.
The balloon would eventually return to the main Parade in 1991, now sporting a new coat of paint and being sponsored by Macy's. It would return as part of the Parade's 65th anniversary celebrations, alongside many other iconic Parade balloons, and was once again retired after that for good. The balloon would make its final public appearance on November 8th, 1997, being once again used for training purposes, alongside the Petula Pig balloon, and has never been seen publicly since then.
Walk arounds (2001-2011)[]
Raggedy Ann would be seen throughout the 2000's and 2010's as a walk around. The first of these appearances was in 2001, as Raggedy Ann appeared in walk-around form on the Toon Balloon-Abration float, alongside many other retired and current balloon characters like Kermit the Frog, Peter Rabbit to celebrate the Parade's 75th anniversary milestone. She also appeared in walk-around form in 2002, this time riding on the iconic Rocking Horse toy float. Raggedy Ann would then appear after nearly a decade of being absent at the 2011 Parade, once again as a walk around, but this time on the Hats Off to our Heritage float, appearing alongside many other retired balloon characters and former Parade directors Jean McFaddin and Robin Hall, as a means of celebrating the Parade's 85th anniversary, which is currently her most recent appearance at the Parade.
Trivia[]
- Raggedy Ann and the original Garfield balloon were the first two giant balloons to be produced by Raven Aerostar.
- Raggedy Ann's smile is seven-feet-wide, while her eyes are three-feet-wide.