Looney Bird is one of the main characters of the Showbiz Pizza Place franchise, having made his debut as an animatronic at
Jacksonville, FL (9820 Atlantic Blvd).
History
Origins
Looney Bird was based off of the character Gooney Bird from the
Hard Luck Bears. He used a similar voice, and had a similar appearance. He was red bird with a plant sticking out of his head, who lived in a barrel. He was a member of the
Rock-afire Explosion.
Showbiz Pizza Place
During the early years of Showbiz Pizza, Looney Bird was portrayed as a drunken and unintelligent bird who worked alongside
Billy Bob at Smitty's Super Service Station. He was later portrayed as a smarter character, who made various gadgets to help the band throughout various shows. During
Concept Unification, several Looney Birds would be retrofitted into
Pizzacam. Pizzacam was a character used for backing vocals, and would eventually be removed from several stages over the years.
The New Rock-afire Explosion & Present Day
After Concept Unification, Creative Engineering wanted to find a new way to bring the Rock-afire Explosion back into the public spotlight. They developed the New Rock-afire Explosion. Every character was changed, including Looney Bird. Looney Bird now had two animatronics, one having its own laboratory, where Looney Bird would now be a full body animatronic wearing a lab coat. The other animatronic was behind
Beach Bear's stage, and was a simple figure consisting of only his head.
As of present day Looney Bird remains the same as he was in the Showbiz days. Original parts for Looney Bird would start to be reproduced by Creative Engineering's new employees in 2023.
Animatronics
