Well, inside the case, no one could touch the pleo, so it could not respond to outside stimuli. My guess is it is not a fully functioning pleo, running a skit. It would be "off" until someone pushed the button on the front of the case. Then it would most likely run a short 30-60 second skit where it moved it's head and tail and made noises.
I'm sure it stayed stationary (and may be physically held in place), and may not have all the internal components. I know the non-working display models that they had in some stores that people could pick up and touch didn't have any circuitry inside. Sharper Image is the only retailer I heard that had real functioning pleos as displays.
This item would be a good novelty, but don't expect to get a working pleo!