Bluey had an unfortunate near miss when the Aussie icon made an unexpected appearance during Macy’s Thanksgiving parade in New York on Thursday.
The globally beloved children’s cartoon character, who is hugely popular in the United States, joined in the Thanksgiving fun in the form of an enormous balloon float.
However, the massive Bluey tribute balloon almost missed out on the parade altogether when it sprung a leak just moments before the big event.
The 16-metre long balloon was left collapsed in a heap on the ground after Bluey popped a hole in one of its paws, with teams dashing to fix the gaffe.
According to the New York Post, onlookers heard a loud noise followed by the sound of ‘gushing air’ from the puncture as the balloon began deflating.
Thankfully, the tragedy was averted when the Bluey balloon was able to be successfully repaired just in time for the popular parade through Manhattan.
‘Hey all, the balloons are ready and I’m glad to report that Bluey is recovering!,’ NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell posted to X – formerly known as Twitter – on Wednesday.
Bluey made her debut as a balloon float in New York’s famed Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 2022 and has been a fan favourite addition ever since.
Bluey is hugely popular with American audiences and became the most streamed TV series across the country this year in an impressive feat.
The world-famous ABC Kids series has been watched among US viewers for 35billion minutes this year, according to Nielsen Media Research.
‘Bluey’s now the number one most watched show (of all) in America for 2024. How incredible, with 35 billion minutes watched this year,’ executive producer Daley Pearson wrote on Instagram of the achievement.
The US Embassy in Australia then commented on Pearson’s post to congratulate his team on their success.
They penned: ‘All our kids love it (and now use the word dunny)! Congratulations!’
Bluey, which streams on Disney+ in America, narrowly beat the competition, including House of the Dragon, Grey’s Anatomy and Family Guy.
The Aussie cartoon was also the second most streamed show in America in 2023, coming in just behind the legal drama Suits.
Children in the US are reportedly beginning to speak with an unmistakable Australian twang after tuning in to Bluey, which follows a lovable Aussie family of blue heelers.
The cartoon has become wildly popular in the US after premiering on the Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney+ in September 2019.
In 2020, The New York Times described the show as ‘the biggest Australian export since The Wiggles’ – the country’s most famous children’s band.
The cartoon stays true to its true-blue roots and is packed with ‘g’day’ greetings and unmistakably Aussie phrases like ‘show us your thongs, muffin’.
Bluey is also the top dog on Australian television, setting new viewership records for ABC and ABC Iview alike.
In April, more than 3.4 million fans tuned in to watch the last three episodes of the global hit across the five major metro centres and regional areas via broadcast TV.
TV Blackbox reported that the Total TV National Reach – which includes viewers from all platforms as well as broadcast TV – for the penultimate episode The Sign was 4.4million viewers.
Bluey also triumphed on the ABC’s Iview kids channel, drawing a monumental 50.3million minutes viewed.
