Every New Balloon In The 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Some of the most iconic characters in popular culture have assembled in Manhattan for the 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, including five new balloons making their debut. (Other smaller balloons will also be added, but we're just focusing on the biggies.)

Beginning at 8:30 a.m., the parade will kick off with a special performance from Cynthia Erivo ("Wicked: For Good"), followed by country singer Lainey Wilson and HUNTR/X from Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters."

Additional parade performers include Matteo Bocelli, Colbie Caillat, Ciara, Gavin DeGraw, Meg Donnelly, Foreigner, Debbie Gibson, Conan Gray, Mickey Guyton, Christopher Jackson, Jewel, Lil Jon, Kool & the Gang, Darlene Love, Taylor Momsen, Busta Rhymes, Calum Scott, Shaggy, and Teyana Taylor, among others.

As always, the parade will also feature performances from some of the biggest musicals currently running on Broadway. Viewers can expect musical numbers from the casts of "Buena Vista Social Club," "Just in Time" (starring TV favorites Jonathan Groff and Sarah Hyland), and "Ragtime." The Radio City Rockettes will also kick their way onto your screens, along with a special performance celebrating "A Chorus Line."

Read on for a breakdown of the five new balloons debuting in the 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, then drop a comment with your thoughts. Which balloon are you most excited to see? And which characters do you think deserve to join the parade next year?

To 34th Street... and beyond! Buzz Lightyear, the intergalactic hero from Disney's "Toy Story" franchise, is making his triumphant return to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade after a 12-year hiatus. The talking toy (voiced by Tim Allen) made his debut as a balloon in 2008, remaining a staple of the parade until 2013. This is an entirely new balloon.

Though Buzz Lightyear is best known for co-leading the "Toy Story" movies, all four of which are currently available to stream on Disney+, he has also led several of his own side projects. "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command," an animated series in which Buzz was voiced by Patrick Warburton, aired from 2000 to 2001; and "Lightyear," a Pixar spin-off in which Buzz was voiced by Chris Evans, was released in theaters in 2022.

Buzz also appears in a number of other "Toy Story"-related shorts and specials, including the Christmas special "Toy Story That Time Forgot," which will air twice as part of Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas line-up. It will first air Saturday, Dec. 13 at midnight ET, then again on Wednesday, Dec. 24 at 2 p.m.

Where there's a televised pop culture event in 2025, can "KPop Demon Hunters" be far behind? The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will welcome a balloon of Derpy Tiger, a fan favorite character from the hit Netflix movie musical. He'll be joined by a mini balloon of Sussie, another character from the movie.

For the uninitiated, Derpy (a blue tiger) and Sussie (a magpie) are the pets of Ahn Hyo-seop (voiced by Andrew Choi), the leader of the Saja Boys, who serve as the main antagonists of "KPop Demon Hunters."

And fans of "KPop Demon Hunters" have more to look forward to than merely a pair of balloons. The singing voices of HUNTR/X — Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami — will also appear as part of the festivities.

"K-Pop Demon Hunters" exploded when it was released on Netflix in June 2025, with its soundtrack of original earworms quickly going platinum, and a sing-along version enjoying a successful theatrical run.

It's-a him, Mario! The legendary plumber and mustachio'd mascot of Nintendo is joining the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the very first time this year. (Can you believe it? After Sonic the Hedgehog?!) Mario's debut comes in honor of the 40th anniversary of the original "Super Mario Brothers" game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

2023's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" is currently available to stream on Prime Video. A sequel, "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," is slated to hit theaters on April 3, 2026.

In addition to their appearances in countless video games over the decades, Mario and his friends have also starred in a handful of TV shows, some of which are currently available to stream. 1989's "The Super Mario Brothers Super Show," a hybrid of cutesy animation and live-action nonsense (including rap!), can be streamed on Prime Video, Tubi, and Pluto TV.

And Mario isn't the only beloved video game character making an inflated debut in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Pac-Man, who previously walked in the parade alongside wife Ms. Pac-Man and child Baby Pac-Man in 1982 and 1983, is appearing as a balloon for the first time in 2025. Pac-Man's inclusion in the parade is in celebration of the video game's 45th anniversary. 

In addition to being one of the best-known video game characters of all time, Pac-Man is also a lesser-known TV star, first headlining his own self-titled cartoon show in 1982. Produced by Hanna-Barbera, "Pac-Man" aired for two seasons on ABC. He returned to the small screen in 2013 via a Japanese CGI series called "Pac-World," which was known as "Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures" when it aired Stateside on Disney XD.

Because the holidays wouldn't be complete without a family road trip, Shrek and his entire crew are making the trek to Manhattan from the Kingdom of Far Far Away. Though Shrek has flown solo in previous years, we're getting the whole gang this time around, including Shrek, Fiona, their three children — Fergus, Farkle, and Felicia — and, of course, Donkey! (Come on, who else would make enough waffles for five hungry ogres?)

The first three "Shrek" movies, as well as additional shorts and specials, are currently available to stream on Peacock. A fifth film in the franchise — with Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy voicing their iconic characters — is set to be released in 2027, with Zendaya joining the cast as the voice of Felicia. 

The franchise's 2007 holiday special "Shrek the Halls" has become an annual TV tradition. This year, it will air Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 8:30/7:30c on NBC, with a second showing on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 8 pm.