Rovio Entertainment has announced that they’re adapting Angry Birds On the Run, the first live-action serialised short-form Angry Birds series, into a longer form special that CAKE will debut at Kidscreen Summit.
CAKE who handles distribution of all Angry Birds TV content will launch the special as 2 x 25’ or 4 x 12’. The series will also be offered in its original format of 22 episodes at 2 minutes 30 seconds each.
CAKE CCO and managing director Ed Galton said: “The winning combination of Rovio, Blink and Popcorn Digital has succeeded in creating a unique, imaginative and hilarious take on the Angry Birds tale. The series makes a great addition to the Angry Birds slate and we are looking forward to continuing to build on that success by bringing the show to multiple platforms and audiences around the world.”
Angry Birds On the Run debuted in late November 2018 on the ‘Angry Birds YouTube Channel’, with new episodes hitting every Saturday. Fan reaction and engagement has been amazing with over four million combined views and an average 95 per cent positive response on YouTube to date.
The hilarious series catapults plush toy versions of Angry Birds- Red, Chuck and Bomb out of their game into the human world, a strange place where nothing makes sense. Forced to overcome obstacles big and small at every turn, the trio must embark on an epic mission to get home before they are locked out of the game forever. Along the way, the birds encounter many strange and wonderful things from curious babies to wild dogs and even their own reflections and a lot of surprises along the way.
Developed and produced by Rovio Entertainment in association with Popcorn Digital (CAKE’s digital arm) and BAFTA-nominated Blink Industries (Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared), Angry Birds on the Run is directed and written by Baker Terry, who also co-wrote and provided voices for DHMIS, which has more than 180 million views on YouTube.
Rovio Entertainment senior vice president of content licensing and executive producer of Angry Birds on the Run Joe Lawson, mentioned : “It was extremely gratifying to work with truly unique talent like Baker Terry and the team at Blink who took our crazy idea of plush toys getting lost in the real world and made it into something unexpected, hilarious and special for our fans. And the success of the series speaks volumes to not just the appeal of these characters, but to the incredible stretch of the Angry Bird universe that we can experiment with storytelling in such a unique way and have fans react so positively.”
Terry also most recently wrote and directed Waiting for Gumball, a mini-series inspired by the hit Cartoon Network show the Amazing World of Gumball. This combination of talent allows Angry Birds On the Run to stand out with humorous storytelling, witty dialogue, great vocal performances and original songs.
Terry who alongside wrote the original songs for the series and provides the voice of Bomb, commented : “Angry Birds on the Run is a celebration of the fans who have been making their own weird and hilarious YouTube content with their favorite characters and games from the franchise for the past 10 years. We wanted to keep the original charm of those fan-made videos, and Blink Industries has done a terrific job elevating the genre with outstanding visual and sound effects while still honoring that homemade tradition. It’s been a joy working with Rovio to create something that is pure fan service.”
With over four billion game downloads since 2009 and one of the strongest mobile game brand licensing programs in the world, Angry Birds is one of the most successful IPs in mobile gaming history. Rovio Entertainment appointed Popcorn Digital to work together to curate and manage the Angry Birds YouTube channel in May 2017.
The partnership has also aimed to develop exclusive YouTube content, including Angry Birds: BirLd Cup, celebrating the World Cup in partnership with Premier League Everton Football Club and star players like Wayne Rooney; Angry Birds Funny Voices, featuring hilarious voice-overs from popular influencers giving their original takes to classic episodes of Angry Birds toons, to new original animated series in development. The Angry Birds YouTube channel has more than 2.8 million subscribers and in the past 12 months has achieved a 239 per cent subscriber growth increase, a 66 per cent increase in views and 176 per cent growth in time watched.