‘The Angry Birds Movie’ Trailer: Everyone’s Favorite Mobile Game is Now a Movie, Somehow
Oh, boy. Here we go. The first trailer for The Angry Birds Movie is here this is the culmination of something. It’s big moment for something. The mere existence of this movie means something. We don’t know what those somethings are, though. All one can do at this moment is watch this preview and ponder, uh, something.
As you surely know, Angry Birds began its life as a massively popular mobile app game series that has spawned 14 sequels and spin-offs since 2010. And Rovio, its developer, didn’t stop there. They released action figures, and merchandise, candy and stuffed animals, cook books and comics, board games and soda. Yes, there is Angry Birds soda. So a major animated movie with a celebrity cast was the end of the line. It all leads to this.
The movie’s greatest task is giving this series a story. Because the games literally don’t have a story. The player simply uses his arsenal of birds to pummel the defenses of evil pigs, weakening their structures just enough to let physics finish the job. It’s a great game to play on the toilet but it’s not a great foundation for a movie.
But we’ll give Sony credit – they’ve certainly tried. What we have here seems to be a movie about a few birds with anger management issues whose miserable, therapy-addled existences are given new purpose when a boat full of evil pigs arrive on their island. The trailer directly reveals characters voiced by Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, and Bill Hader. The full cast scroll promises vocal appearances from Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Tony Hale, Keegan Michael-Key, and Peter Dinklage. Not too shabby.
Here’s the big question though: does anyone want an Angry Birds movie? Like, for real? Sure, everyone knows the name and everyone has had this game on their smartphones at some point, but is anyone actually passionate enough to get pumped up to see these birds on the big screen? This movie is going to teach us a lot about what younger audiences get excited about these days. Your kids are going to determine whether or not this thing is a success.
Here’s the official synopsis:
The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds – or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis, We're the Millers, Horrible Bosses), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad in his first animated role since Frozen), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride, This is the End, Eastbound and Down) have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.
The Angry Birds Movie opens on May 20, 2016.