Angry Birds facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Angry Birds |
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Logo used since 2015
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| Creator | Jaakko Iisalo |
| Original work | Angry Birds (2009) |
| Owner | Rovio Entertainment Sega |
| Films and television | |
| Films |
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| Animated series |
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| Games | |
| Video games | List of games |
| Audio | |
| Soundtracks | The Angry Birds Movie (2016) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Toys | Lego The Angry Birds Movie (2016-2017) |
| Theme park attractions |
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| Official website | |
| https://www.angrybirds.com | |
Angry Birds is a popular video game series and media franchise from Finland. Game designer Jaakko Iisalo created the concept for game studio Rovio Entertainment. The game company is now owned by Sega. The main story shows a flock of colorful anthropomorphic birds. These flightless birds must protect their precious eggs from green pigs. Most entries in the series are clever puzzle games. Players pull back on a giant slingshot on a mobile device touch screen. They fling the grumpy birds toward fragile fortresses made of wood, glass, and stone.
The franchise began in 2009 with the original game Angry Birds. The first adventure became an instant worldwide hit. It rescued Rovio from severe financial trouble and bankruptcy. Millions of players quickly downloaded the app onto their mobile phones. Soon, developers made fun spinoffs and new puzzles like Bad Piggies. The franchise later expanded into animated television shows like Angry Birds Toons. Major Hollywood animated films arrived in cinemas, including The Angry Birds Movie and The Angry Birds Movie 2.
Today, Angry Birds ranks among the highest-grossing media franchises in history. It stands as one of the most downloaded mobile phone game series ever produced. The classic title is frequently named among the best video games ever made. Fans can find the flock everywhere. They appear in amusement parks, toy stores, funny cartoons, books, clothing, and big promotions.
Contents
History and Development of Angry Birds
2009–2012: The First Games and Growing Success
The story of the game began when Rovio faced serious trouble and bankruptcy. Game designer Jaakko Iisalo drew a picture of angry-looking birds with thick eyebrows. The developers loved the drawing and decided to build a game around it. They took gameplay inspiration from a popular Adobe Flash web title called Crush the Castle. In December 2009, Rovio officially released Angry Birds for iOS devices.
The game became an enormous global hit. Rovio quickly built fun seasonal versions for holidays. In October 2010, they released a Halloween edition for Apple devices. This title later became Angry Birds Seasons. The team ported this new game to Android phones in December 2010 with a festive Christmas update.
Rovio soon created exciting crossover adventures. In March 2011, they released Angry Birds Rio with the hit animated film Rio. Newspaper The Independent reported that this project was the biggest launch ever for Rovio. More themed crossovers followed, including Angry Birds Star Wars in 2012 and Angry Birds Transformers in 2014. The company also made their very first spin-off game called Bad Piggies in September 2012. In that game, players build wacky vehicles to guide green pigs across tricky obstacle courses.
2012–2019: Major Sequels and Movie Adventures
The franchise expanded beyond phone screens into television. In March 2013, the animated series Angry Birds Toons debuted worldwide. The studio also planned a full feature film for movie theaters. In 2014, Rovio introduced more animated series like Piggy Tales and Angry Birds Stella.
In July 2015, Rovio released the direct video game sequel, Angry Birds 2. This new game brought multi-stage levels, spells, and fresh graphic effects. At the same time, movie studios prepared The Angry Birds Movie. A special augmented reality mobile title called Angry Birds Action! helped promote the film. Sony Pictures Releasing launched the movie in theaters in May 2016. The film gave the birds arms, legs, and speaking voices for the very first time. Later, in August 2019, the studio released a sequel named The Angry Birds Movie 2.
2019–2023: App Changes and the Sega Era
In 2019, Rovio retired several older classic games from digital app stores. Technology had changed, and the old games could no longer receive a patch easily. Fans missed the original adventures and asked Rovio to bring them back. Rovio listened and created complete remakes of their classics.
Engineers rebuilt the original adventure using the modern Unity engine. They published Rovio Classics: Angry Birds for iOS and Android in March 2022. Rovio briefly changed its title on the Apple App Store to Red's First Flight. The company also managed the game's presence on Google Play store searches.
In August 2023, famous video game publisher Sega purchased Rovio for 776 million dollars. Sega added the birds to their family of characters alongside Sonic the Hedgehog. In March 2024, a big crossover event took place across several games. Angry Birds joined high-speed races in Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. Players could unlock special items and power-up boosts in Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2. Birds also visited titles like Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, and Two Point Museum.
Entertainment Media Across the Franchise
Fun Video Games and Spinoffs
The franchise features dozens of video games across many genres. Players can explore racing, role-playing, and tile-matching adventures. Special web versions also appeared on the Google Chrome browser and the social platform Google+.
- Angry Birds Seasons gave players clever holiday levels.
- Angry Birds Rio took the flock to South America.
- Angry Birds Space introduced fun zero-gravity physics.
- Angry Birds Star Wars and Angry Birds Star Wars II brought lightsabers and space blasters.
- Angry Birds Go! delivered fast kart racing action.
- Angry Birds Epic allowed players to battle pigs in turn-based fantasy combat.
- Angry Birds Transformers featured transforming robot birds.
- Angry Birds Friends let friends challenge each other in weekly tournaments.
- Angry Birds Reloaded brought updated classic gameplay to modern devices.
- Angry Birds Journey provided a relaxed, story-driven puzzle adventure.
Animated Television Series
Many television shows and cartoons share the adventures of the birds and pigs. In 2013, the animated series Angry Birds Toons debuted across digital apps and TV networks. The shorts showed the hilarious everyday struggles between the birds and mischievous pigs. Families could watch episodes through Toons.TV and home video releases by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
In 2014, the studio made Piggy Tales, using charming claymation and computer animation styles. The series focused on the silly experiments of the clumsy green minion pigs. That same year, Angry Birds Stella followed Stella and her friends defending their island home. Canadian studio Bardel Entertainment worked with Rovio to produce the cute series Angry Birds Blues in 2017. The show followed three mischievous blue bird triplets named Jim, Jake, and Jay.
Popular streaming platform Netflix picked up these shows for kids around the world. Rovio also shared many creative short series on YouTube. Viewers watched Angry Birds MakerSpace, which showed birds and pigs sharing a high-tech workshop. Another popular show was Angry Birds Slingshot Stories, which revealed funny moments inside the game levels. In 2022, Netflix released Angry Birds: Summer Madness. This series followed young bird campers enjoying outdoor adventures at summer camp. In 2024, Amazon Prime Video debuted Angry Birds Mystery Island, following young hatchlings exploring a mysterious land.
Theatrical Feature Films
The franchise made a successful jump to the big screen with full-length animated movies.
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) | Composer | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Angry Birds Movie | 20 May 2016 | Clay Kaytis Fergal Reilly |
Jon Vitti | John Cohen Catherine Winder |
Heitor Pereira | Sony Pictures Releasing |
| The Angry Birds Movie 2 | 14 August 2019 | Thurop Van Orman John Rice |
Peter Ackerman Eyal Podell Jonathan E. Stewart |
John Cohen | ||
| The Angry Birds Movie 3 | 23 December 2026 | John Rice | Thurop Van Orman | John Cohen Dan Chuba Carla Connor |
Paramount Pictures |
In May 2016, Sony Pictures Releasing launched The Angry Birds Movie in theaters. The computer animation was produced by Sony Pictures Imageworks. Animation veterans Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly directed the story, written by Jon Vitti. Former Marvel Studios leader David Maisel served as executive producer. The film introduced Red, a grumpy red bird who struggles to fit in. When cunning pigs steal the flock's eggs, Red leads an exciting rescue mission.
In August 2019, director Thurop Van Orman brought The Angry Birds Movie 2 to theaters. The movie was co-produced by Sony Pictures Animation. In this funny story, the birds and pigs form an alliance. They work together to stop a new villain who launches giant ice balls. The sequel received high reviews, earning a 73% score on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2024, Sega and Rovio began production on The Angry Birds Movie 3. Animation company DNEG Animation joined the project, with Paramount Pictures handling distribution for its theatrical release.
Toys, Collectibles, and Everyday Merchandise
The Angry Birds characters appear on many kinds of toys and clothes. Fans can buy soft stuffed plush birds, backpacks, and action figures. In 2011, toy maker Mattel released a board game named "Angry Birds: Knock on Wood". Players build small physical castles out of plastic blocks and launch birds at pigs. Toy company Hasbro introduced Telepods figures. Kids scan a small QR code using a tablet camera to teleport characters into digital games. This toys-to-life feature worked like games such as Skylanders or Disney Infinity.
In 2012, Mattel launched die-cast Hot Wheels cars shaped like Red, Chuck, and the pigs. In 2016, Lego released official building sets. These sets let kids build pig vehicles, pirate ships, and bird houses from the movie.
Books and comics help children explore the Angry Birds world. In 2011, Rovio printed an egg cookbook called Bad Piggies: Egg Recipes. Science group National Geographic published educational books like Angry Birds Space: A Furious Flight Into The Final Frontier. They also created Angry Birds Feathered Fun to teach kids real science facts about actual birds. Comic publisher IDW Publishing printed comic books, and GoComics shared funny daily comic strip stories online. Beverage company Olvi even sold fruity soft drink cans featuring colorful character art.
Theme Parks and Live Attractions
Fans can visit real-life playgrounds and theme park areas based on the games. In 2011, the Window of the World park in Changsha, China opened an attraction where visitors fired large slingshots. In April 2012, Rovio opened the first official Angry Birds Land at Särkänniemi in Finland. Another park area opened at Thorpe Park in the United Kingdom in May 2014. It featured a fun 4D cinema show and a themed ride based on Detonator.
Rovio also built fun Activity Parks with playgrounds, slides, and digital screens. One popular indoor park opened in Lightwater Valley, England. Another park opened in Vuokatti, Finland, featuring obstacle courses and pedal cars. Space fans visited the special Angry Birds Space Encounter at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The franchise also opened a large entertainment zone called Angry Birds World at Doha Festival City. Families in the United States can play an indoor mini-golf course at the American Dream mall in New Jersey.
Impact on Global Popular Culture
The slingshot game quickly became a part of everyday culture around the world. Famous comedy shows made funny parodies about the game's popularity. The Israeli satirical television program Eretz Nehederet created a famous peace talk sketch that quickly became a viral online hit. Writers for news sites like digitaltrends.com and major newspapers like The Guardian discussed how recognizable the characters had become. Late-night television hosts Conan O'Brien and Jon Stewart talked about the app on their comedy shows. In the sitcom 30 Rock, writer Aaron Sorkin joked about people spending hours slinging birds on mobile phones. Animated comedy shows like Family Guy and Robot Chicken also included funny parodies of the game levels.
Many famous people shared that they love playing the puzzle levels. British political leader David Cameron enjoyed playing on his tablet device. Famous novelist Salman Rushdie stated in interviews that he was an expert player. Basketball superstar Kevin Durant played friendly matches against other sports stars. In 2011, the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team played the game's music during stadium player introductions. The mobile title even made a funny background cameo in the action movie G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
The famous characters have starred in major commercial advertising campaigns. Microsoft promoted their Bing search engine with the angry flock. Phone maker Nokia used colorful building projections to show off games on their Nokia N8 smartphone. Mobile network T-Mobile built a huge live-action slingshot in a public city square in Spain. Airline Finnair decorated an Airbus A340 passenger jet with colorful birds for flights to Asia. Food companies like Cheetos and Coca-Cola partnered with the studio for fun snack promotions.
Sports organizations frequently team up with the Finnish video game brand. During the 2012 Formula One racing season, driver Heikki Kovalainen wore a custom Angry Birds safety helmet. Fellow racing champion Kimi Räikkönen wore branded caps while driving for the Lotus F1 Team. A fierce character named Hockey Bird became the official tournament mascot for the 2012 World Ice Hockey Championships. In English soccer, Premier League club Everton F.C. placed the Red bird logo on their match jerseys.
The simple game mechanics inspired new ideas in modern education. Rovio partnered with researchers at the University of Helsinki to design early learning materials. They built an educational project called Angry Birds Playground to help young children explore science, math, reading, and arts. Former Rovio leaders later founded an educational group named Fun Academy. Their work uses playful learning to help kids discover the joy of school subjects. The cheerful birds continue to entertain and inspire millions of young puzzle fans everywhere.
See also
In Spanish: Angry Birds para niños
