The state of New Mexico will feature a Warner Bros. animation-themed float at the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade January 1.
The required all-natural "Hats off to New Mexico -- BEEP BEEP!" float features onion seeds, split peas, orange split peas, thousands of straw flowers, 9,400 roses, 8,500 red carnations and a host of other materials, according to a story in THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN (via Cartoon Brew).
The 2008 float featured space aliens and a tribute to Roswell's fame as the scene of a UFO incident. It was called "Passport to our World and Beyond" and it won the Grand Marshal's Trophy for excellence in creative concept and design.
Volunteer Bob Beardsley said he really enjoyed working on that one, because of its fun, whimsical nature. And this year -- with the cool, cartoonish Road Runner and Coyote -- should be equally fun and whimsical, he said. "I think it's going to showcase New Mexico well," Beardsley said. The float shows mountains, snow-capped trees, desert scenes and the Coyote strapped to a red ACME rocket about to be fired at the Road Runner.
The float's design was unveiled in October in the Chuck Jones Gallery in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. The New Mexico Tourism Department spent about $200,000 on the float from their advertising budget, but about $40,000 of that came from local sponsors.
Other film-inspired floats include the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association's "3-D Double Feature," featuring a dinosaur roaring out of a drive-in movie theater screen; Bayer Advanced's "Garden of Oz," featuring characters form THE WIZARD OF OZ and the City of Torrance (California)'s "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."
The theme of the 2009 parade is "Hats off to Entertainment."
