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ENTERTAINMENT

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade to feature balloon with Westchester ties

Kevin Phelan
kphelan@lohud.com
Scrat, the character from "Ice Age" voiced by Katonah's Chris Wedge, will make its first appearance in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Wedge also directed the film.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is going to be nuts this year with the addition of a character made famous by Westchester's Chris Wedge.

Scrat, the acorn-obsessed squirrel from the popular "Ice Age" films will make his first appearance in the parade as a 59-foot long, 24-foot wide, 41-foot tall balloon. The character is voiced by Wedge, who lives in Katonah and also directed the first film in the series.

Scrat will fly the entire  2½-mile parade route, chasing a giant acorn balloon, naturally. More than 15 million average sized acorns can fit inside of the parade's inflatable version, according to Macy's.

It 's one of just four new balloons being introduced this year, with Red from "Angry Birds," Ronald McDonald and Sinclair Oil's Dino rounding out the group.

A 1984 graduate of SUNY Purchase's film program, Wedge co-founded the then Westchester-based Blue Sky Studios in 1986. The company did animation for commercials and films and, in 1999, was acquired by Twentieth Century Fox. "Ice Age" was released in 2002, earning Wedge a Best Animated Feature Academy Award-nomination. Blue Sky now operates out of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Wedge had already won a Best Animated Short Oscar in 1999 for the seven-minute film "Bunny."

The character has now appeared in four feature films and seven shorts.(Gannett News Service/Twentieth Century Fox)

Following "Ice Age," Blue Sky Studios went on to work on films like "Robots," "Horton Hears a Who" and "Rio." Its most recent project was "The Peanuts Movie," before which, Scrat made his latest appearance in an out-of-this world adventure.

Scrat proved an enduring character, not to mention popular — the character has an official Facebook page with more than 64,000 fans — and appeared in the three "Ice Age" sequels, as well as seven standalone shorts, including the aforementioned "Cosmic Scrat-Tastrophe." The character will also return in "Ice Age: Collision Course," which is currently in production and scheduled for a July 2016 release.

In 2012, the Katonah Museum of Art presented "Ice Age to the Digital Age: The 3D Animation Art of Blue Sky Studios," an exhibition based on the work of Wedge and his colleagues.

Wedge is seen at "Ice Age to the Digital Age: The 3D Animation Art of Blue Sky Studios," an exhibition at the Katonah Museum of Art that showcased his studio's work in 2012. ( Carucha L. Meuse / The Journal News )

Wedge will return to Purchase Jan. 26 for a free lecture on his work. It begins at 7 p.m. in the Humanities Building Theater. Tickets are not needed and guests will be allowed admittance on a first-come, first-served basis.

Twitter: @kev_incredulous

Here are the details on the Macy's parade, as well as a few other options:

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade

The holy grail of holiday parades — and popular NYC attraction — draws millions of spectators with its spectacular display of character balloons, floats, marching bands and live entertainment. The parade kicks off at 9 a.m. at 77th Street and Central Park West and then heads south down CPW to 59th Street, heads east to Sixth Avenue and then downtown to 34th Street ending at Macy’s Herald Square. The festivities wrap up around noon. Visit social.macys.com/parade for additional details.

New Rochelle Thanksgiving parade

Don’t want to trek to NYC? No problem. Stay local and enjoy the same type of floats, marchers, and all the seasonal festivities that accompany the Thanksgiving Day Parade, only earlier on Nov. 21. The annual bacchanalia in New Rochelle kicks off the start of the holiday season with a display of local organizations, bands and floats marching through New Rochelle’s downtown. The parade starts anywhere on North Avenue from New Rochelle High School to Main Street or south on Main Street to Maple Avenue, with a reviewing stand in front of Memorial Plaza. 10 a.m.-noon. Go to newrochellechamber.org for details.

UBS Parade Spectacular

For more holiday fun head over to neighboring Stamford, Connecticut, for its annual UBS Parade Spectacular from noon-4 p.m. Nov. 22. Not to be outdone by NYC, this Connecticut extravaganza also features floats, huge balloons, bands and more. The parade begins on Summer Street at Hoyt and ends on Atlantic Street. A Balloon Inflation Party from 3-6 p.m. Nov. 21 on Hoyt Street offers visitors a backstage look at the balloons as they come to life. For information on parking and more, go to stamford-downtown.com

Michelle Almonte contributed to this report