MANHATTAN — SpongeBob, Hello Kitty and the Kung Fu Panda will be quivering in their boots.
A ghoulish character from fright master Tim Burton is set to take flight in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the company said.
B. Boy, a character stitched together from the remnants of old birthday party balloons will join the ranks of the annual parade's famed balloons, Macy's said in a release.
"I've always had a fascination with balloons," said the "Batman" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" director.
"To have the opportunity to design one of for the Macy's Day Parade is a real honor. Looking through photographs of the balloons that have been part of the parade over the last 85 years was really inspiring."
According to the character's back story, B. was constructed on the Fourth of July in the basement of a London hospital.
Considered too scary to play with the other kids there, he was relegated to the basement where he watched his favorite film, "The Red Balloon" over and over again and dreamed of flying over the city.
The Burton float is part of the parade's Blue Sky Gallery series, which features the works of renowned artists such as Tom Otterness, Jeff Koons, Keith Haring and Takashi Murakami.
B. Boy was developed over the course of a summer — a collaboration between the "Beetlejuice" filmmaker and Macy's artists.
The original sketch was transformed into a 2-foot model and then into a 32-foot-tall and 19-foot-wide balloon.
The 85th annual parade takes place on Nov. 24 and is broadcast on NBC from 9 a.m. to noon., Macy's said.
The route stretches from Central Park West and 77th Street to Herald Square.
