It’s surprising how many Disney fans have fallen in love with the little Orange Bird with orange thoughts and a penchant for pitching orange juice! Especially as he was gone from the Disney Parks for so long. But you can’t keep a good bird grounded for long and he is making a comeback in a big way.
Originally appearing in 1970 as a mascot for the Florida Citrus Commission, the Orange Bird was created in exchange for them sponsoring the Enchanted Tiki Room just beside the Sunshine Tree Terrace at the Magic Kingdom theme park. The little guy also became a not-so little walk-around character.
The promotion ended and the little bird flew away but landed in Japan in 2004 to coincide with that country’s Orange Day festivities of April 14th. In April 2012, the Orange Bird made a historic return to the Sunshine Tree Terrace at Walt Disney World. It appeared that North Americans had fallen in love with the speechless wonder all over again!
And since then, the merchandise hasn’t stopped landing on shelves. Hey, Disney loves a cash cow… er, bird. One particular piece of said merchandise found its way onto one of my display shelves:
Funko Pop! figurines are either cute or ugly, depending on the sculpt and the character being depicted. Some work and some don’t. This one… does!
The boxes are often a big part of the collectability with Funko Pop! figurines. I like how the back of this box features small thought balloons showing us just what’s in that little head of his!
He definitely has Pop! on the brain!
Being a Diamond Collection figurine, this figurine sparkles and has a rough texture unlike most other Funko Pop! figures.
You can really get a sense of the sparkling feature with this profile shot.
Love the tail made out of leaves! Having the little bird with leaf wings is also a design triumph.
Like all Funko Pop! figurines, the head of the figurine does swivel on the body so that you can create a limited range of poses for display. If you take him out of the box!
Released on October 26th, 2018, this is the 25th Disney Parks Exclusive Funko Pop! in the collection. There was also a regular edition and an Orange Bird Flocked edition released with the ‘290’ number.
A good friend who was at the Parks purchased this Orange Bird for me. At the time, it sold for $19.99, plus tax. If you missed getting yours, you can now pick one up on eBay (or other selling sites) for just $75.00 to $100.00, plus shipping. Thank goodness I had a friend on the spot at the right time!
As a special treat, we’ll conclude with some of the lyrics for the Orange Bird song:
Little Orange Bird, (Little Orange Bird),
In the Sunshine Tree. (in the Sunshine Tree.)
Won’t you think of something sunny just for me?
Think of funny thoughts. (Think a funny thought.)
Or a sunny word. (Or a sunny word.)
That will make me happy, little Orange Bird.
He thinks beautiful orange pictures, and beautiful orange words.
Though his little beak, can’t even peep a squeak.
All the thoughts he ever spoke, appear in orange smoke.
That’s what makes the Orange Bird unique.
That will make me happy, little Orange Bird.
Psst! There are more Funko POP! here.
