Underinflated Snoopy Balloon Sparks Droopy Jokes at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

The newest Snoopy balloon at the annual event didn’t make it to the main event fully inflated.

November 23, 2023, 10:28am

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – NOVEMBER 04: A Beagle Scout Snoopy and Woodstock balloon is inflated at Macy's Balloonfest 2023 at Meadowlands Sports Complex on November 04, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Macy's, Inc)

It didn’t take long for the issues to start popping up during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC. It would seem that Josh Gad is a bit of a menace for live television, missing his cues and possibly having a hand in deflating the Snoopy balloon before it made its entrance at the main leg of the annual parade.

As you can tell from photos before the parade, the saggy nature of Snoopy’s hat is not a planned feature, and people had plenty of jokes. Josh Gad earned a little blame by holding onto the tether for the balloon shortly before it started to deflate. Snoopy’s latest balloon is in honor of the upcoming 2024 series . The streaming platform has been the home for Peanuts content, introducing The Snoopy Show, several Peanuts specials and an upcoming Peanuts movie set to release in 2024.

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Why Snoopy and other balloons started to deflate isn’t clear, but it isn’t the first time it has happened in the show’s history. Several balloons hit street lamps in 1993, causing them to deflate. Superman’s balloon was once tangled in some trees, while Kermit the Frog was the victim of awful weather in 1985. One of the more infamous incidents came in 2008 when one balloon took out the broadcast booth at the parade, only being topped by the infamous Barney balloon that deflated in 1998.

Apart from Snoopy, Diary of a Wimpy Kid‘s balloon was also deflated, while a One Piece balloon also showed signs of wear after a tree branch tore it open as the parade reached the main stage. But apart from impeding Snoopy’s ability to see and the humorous sight of Woodstock seemingly crushing the pup’s head, the parade didn’t seem to have too many other hiccups.

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Elsewhere in the parade, lip-syncing was in full use while a few of the broadcast issues kept popping up during interviews with people in the parade. Even Al Roker had to contend with a very loud announcer in the background while on the phone with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.