Dr Seuss Horton Hears A Who Macy's Thanksgiving Day 2008 Commemorative Elephant Plush

This is a large plush Horton the Elephant made to commemorate the introduction of the Horton balloon to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City in 2008.  In that year, Horton was named Macy's Holiday Ambassador of 2008.  Horton is a fairly large plush measuring approximately 14 inches tall by 18 inches long from the tip of his bendable trunk to his tail.  "Macy's 2008" is embroidered on his right front foot.  Horton is lightly loved and clean, but somewhere along the way, he lost both his original book and the clover where the "Whos" once lived.  He is also very shy, having lost his ability to talk (the internal talking mechanism no longer works, the batteries are not accessible and tend to expire in these plush animals).

Horton the Elephant is a character from the 1940 book Horton Hatches the Egg and the 1954 book Horton Hears a Who!, both by Dr. Seuss.  Horton is a kind, sweet-natured elephant who cares about both animals and people. Though he goes through many hardships, whether trying to keep an egg warm through storms, rough travels, and humiliating shows, or tries to save a small planet from harm, he always triumphs; the egg hatches into an elephant-bird, while the planet is saved and respected by the others.  He is very popular because of his big heart and respectful compassion.

A Horton balloon was created in 2008 for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, to promote Blue Sky Studios' film adaption of Horton Hears A Who!, which was released that year.  It took 56 handlers below to keep Horton from escaping off into the clouds, and cradled into his trunk, was his Clover, which housed his friends, the Whos.  The balloon appeared for three years and was retired shortly after the 2010 Parade.