The 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will feature Universal Orlando Resort’s first-ever balloon, inspired by holiday mascot Earl the Squirrel.
Earl the Squirrel Balloon
Despite a years-long collaboration with Macy’s on their own in-park holiday parade, Universal Orlando Resort has never had a dedicated balloon in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Not only will Earl the Squirrel fly over the streets of New York City, Universal will bring a whole unit from their holiday parade to the Big Apple, including backup dancers, balloon handlers, and a dancing acorn.
After his stint in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 26, Earl will join Universal’s Holiday Parade Featuring Macy’s at Universal Studios Florida. The park parade runs from November 14 through January 3, but Earl won’t appear until after the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“Earl has risen to the status of Universal Studios Florida’s Christmas icon. He started as a real, little squirrel in our Christmas tree who loved chewing on some blue lights, and it grew in the fandom,” Universal creative Lora Sauls told Entertainment Weekly.
According to Universal legend, many years ago Universal technicians and artists discovered broken wires on the Universal Studios Florida Christmas tree. After fixing the wires, they returned the next day to find the same problem. Eventually, they caught a squirrel chewing on the wires.
The squirrel was humanely rehomed, said Sauls, but became an inside joke with Universal team members. They started placing a squirrel figure inside the park’s tree, which guests noticed. Earl the Squirrel’s popularity grew until he was introduced as a costumed character with his own merchandise in 2021.
Universal visual design and retail creative Rob Cametti took Earl from a real squirrel to a cartoon character.
“I said, ‘I need a squirrel,’” Cametti told EW. “I gave him three references. One of the references, if you look at the hat that he wears, it’s a plaid hat with flaps. Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation, that was one of the inspirations for his hat!”
He also took inspiration from “rubber hose cartoon” characters like Betty Boop.
When it came to turning Earl into a balloon, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade creative director Brendan Kennedy said, “The lore of the lights is really what we latched onto. How do we bring his trusty lightbulb with him and create a new balloon? It all starts with a sketch, which gets 3D modeled. We do a little bit of flight testing to make sure it can fly well. We wanted to make sure we got the character just right, but also that he could fly perfectly!”
The helium balloon consists of pieces heat-steamed together and hand-painted.
See Earl the Squirrel, as well as Bluey and Sorcerer Mickey, fly over Manhattan on November 26 at 8:30 a.m. ET on NBC.
Read more about the holidays at Universal Orlando Resort.
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The post Earl the Squirrel to Debut as Universal Orlando’s First Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Before Joining Park Parade appeared first on WDW News Today.
