Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Dr. Seuss' Grinch Balloon Has Social Media Sounding off on Its Look

The 2019 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade marked the third consecutive year for the new rendition of [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

The 2019 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade marked the third consecutive year for the new rendition of Dr. Seuss' the Grinch. The new version of the beloved character was introduced in 2017, to help raise interest in Illumination Entertainment's animated The Grinch movie. Fans at home were impressed by the relatively new balloon's attention to detail.

The Grinch first appeared at the 1997 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but did not appear again until 2002, two years after Universal Studios released the smash hit live-action film How the Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim Carrey in the title role. After a 17-year absence, the Grinch came back in 2017 as Universal began promotional efforts for the Illumination film.

When The Grinch was finally released in November 2018, the film was a big hit worldwide, grossing $511.5 million. Since the Grinch remains a popular icon, it seems unlikely the Grinch balloon will be retired any time soon.

Like every other balloon on Thursday, the Grinch was forced to fly low along the way to Macy's flagship Manhattan store. Thanks to strong winds in New York City, the green light to let the balloons go did not come until 40 minutes before the parade began. All balloons were kept low to the ground.

According to CNN, the balloons are not supposed to be flown when sustained winds are greater than 23 mph and exceed 34 mph. The winds did get close, as there were 32 mph gusts recorded at Central Park. If winds did get too strong, the balloons would have been re-routed down side streets to be deflated.

Although most balloons that started along the route finished it, McDonald's Ronald McDonald balloon did not meet the same fate. A tear opened in its leg and foot, causing part of the balloon to deflate. The winds reportedly made the tear worse and it was pulled from the route before the opening got worse. NBC decided to air footage of the Ronald McDonald balloon from a previous parade during the broadcast.

NBC will be airing the original 1966 TV classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas twice during the holiday season. The half-hour special will air on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. ET and again on Christmas Day, Dec. 25 at 8 p.m. ET. Ron Howard's live action version, starring Carrey, follows at 8:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 25.

Photo credit: Li Muzi/Xinhua via Getty Images

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