With "balloon boy" costumes "practically flying off the shelves" this Halloween — and April Fools' Day less than six months away (OK, it's a bit of a stretch) — we thought we'd offer some alternative balloon viewing.
Here are five balloon mishaps from movies that are guaranteed to elicit a variety of emotional reactions, with one notable exception: Disgust.
Sure, we could have gone with the straight scene from Gotham's 200th Anniversary Celebration Parade. Give this clip a viewing, though, and we're sure you'll agree its mashup makes Jack Nicholson's "He stole my balloons!" rant all the more entertaining.
Kermit and his friends' cross-country trek to Hollywood is the perfect setup for a cameo-studded movie. At an amusement park, Gonzo meets balloon salesman Richard Pryor, who convinces him to woo his "beautiful chicken" with more than a single balloon — and sets into motion the expected Muppet mishap.
Okay, we might have been wrong when we promised this list wouldn't provoke disgust, but we're not the ones to blame here. Experts everywhere are still trying to puzzle out the movie math on this one: All-Star Cast + Cutting-Edge Special Effects + Nazi Villains = Box-Office and Critical Bomb? Talk about a burst balloon.
Caution: Some of the parallels here are uncomfortable. In the Wizard, you've got an adult whose prominence and fame results from an escaped (hot air) balloon. And, of course, he's more concerned with his "ruined exit" from Oz than the fact that he's placing a child in a precarious position. But this classic movie, in the end, is still comfort viewing.
Again, the plot might be too close for comfort — a young boy squirreled away on a perilous balloon journey, the hoped-for happy and safe ending — but hey, we're kind of partial to Pixar movies. And with Awards Season on the horizon, this movie definitely deserves another mention.
While not an official balloon appearance, this remastered "Of all the gin joints..." scene displays a flawless sense of timing that rivals that of the movie's lead actors. Play it again, Sam, indeed.
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