Shrek is a fictional character who was first introduced as the titular and main character of the 1990 children's book, Shrek!. The character was popularized by the DreamWorks Animation Shrek film franchise, which spans four feature-length movies and several animated shorts. Shrek is depicted as an anti-social and highly-territorial green ogre with a Scottish accent who lives in a swamp by himself. In the films, he is voiced by Mike Myers.
In the first Shrek film, the titular ogre goes on a quest to rescue the feisty Princess Fiona with the help of his loveable Donkey and win back the deed to his swamp from scheming Lord Farquaad. Through the next several films, Shrek is shown to marry Princess Fiona and is made the father of three ogre babies; Farkle, Fergus and Felicia.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Shrek (2007-2010)[]
Shrek made his Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade debut in the 2007 Parade, soaring through Manhattan as a giant helium character balloon. The truly larger-than-life ogre took a break from life in his beloved swamp to help welcome the holiday season. Dressed in his signature woodsman outfit complete with oatmeal sweater, plaid pants and brown vest, the Shrek balloon flies in from Far Far Away at 44-feet tall, 48.1-feet long and 39-feet wide. The giant balloon was introduced to the famed holiday spectacle as a means of promotion for the home media release of the most recent Shrek film, Shrek the Third, which had been released in theaters that past spring.
In conjunction with the balloon's debut, Shrek was named Macy's Holiday Ambassador of 2007. As a part of this promotion, a specialty Shrek plush toy was sold at Macy's department stores across the country. Additionally, a cold-air inflatable version of Shrek was perched upon the 34th Street memorial entrance marquee, greeting the bustling shoppers throughout the holiday season.
The Shrek balloon would continue to appear in the line of march over the next couple of years, promoting various forms of Shrek media. In 2008, the balloon promoted the Broadway musical, Shrek The Musical, which had began performances on the Great White Way earlier that year.
The following year, the aforementioned musical performed in front of Macy's 34th Street as a part of the pre-Parade festivities on NBC's broadcast of the Parade. The balloon also flew through New York City once more, now touting the release of the fourth Shrek film, Shrek Forever After, which released the following summer.
In July 2010, the balloon travelled to Chicago to welcome the first-ever performance of Shrek The Musical's national tour at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
The Shrek balloon made its final appearance in the 2010 Macy's Parade, bidding a fond farewell to the original Shrek film franchise following Shrek Forever After. Following this appearance, the balloon was retired from the line of march and currently lays deflated and dormant in the Macy's Parade Warehouse.
Shrek's Onion Carriage (2025-present)[]
The Shrek franchise returned to the Parade in 2025 as an all new giant helium character balloon for the first time in 15 years. Whereas the original was a solo character balloon, Shrek is now seen alongside Donkey, Fiona, Gingy, Pinocchio, Fergus, Farkle, and Felicia, all riding in the likes of an onion carriage. The balloon was revealed in a video that was posted on the official Shrek social media account on X. The new balloon was made for the upcoming release of Shrek 5 in 2027.
In addition to the main Parade, the Shrek franchise has been represented in Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's with a unit dedicated to the fairytale follies of the Shrek universe.
Trivia[]
- The Shrek balloon is one of only two known characters to have their retirement announced on live television, the first being Donald Duck in 1972.
- Shrek's first balloon was the first parade unit to be sponsored by DreamWorks Animation. It was followed by Po from Kung Fu Panda in 2010 and 2023, Toothless in 2013, Trolls in 2016, The Boss Baby in 2020, Gabby in 2024, and his new “Onion Carriage” balloon in 2025.
- The second balloon broke the record for the most characters featured on one balloon at eight characters, beating out the Trolls balloon which had four characters, and the Rugrats balloon which had three characters.
- The second Shrek balloon marked the first public appearances of the teenage designs for Fergus and Farkle; Felicia's had already been revealed in the teaser trailer for the film that February.