Given the overwhelming popularity of the avian menace, we all know this was bound to happen sooner or later.
Speaking with the Wall Street Journal, Rovio CEO Mikael Hed promised that a cartoon based on the super hit is on the way. Details are a bit scarce, but it's reported that Rovio's aim is to make the cartoon "timeless," akin to cartoons like the Roadrunner, or Pink Panther, that can still grab attention years after their heyday. The cartoon is set to debut later this spring.
It can't be argued that Angry Birds is a marketing machine: Plush toys, clothing, a board game, there's even an Angry Birds soda that's managed to oversell both Coca-Cola and Pepsi in certain countries.
With the latest Star Wars tie in serving to further the Rovio empire, the company is showing no signs of slowing down. Rovio has said it plans for Angry Birds to be "much bigger than Disney," and they're well on the track to do so. Future plans even include a theme park, debit card, and more.
Since it's release by RovioMobile in 2009, the original Angry Birds and all its additions have reached (cumulatively) over one billion downloads. Angry Birds has since branched out onto virtually everything with a screen, be it home consoles, PC's, e-readers, and so on, with new episodes and spin-offs, and now, even plush toys and a clothing line.
Last year, Rovio said it generated $106 million in revenue. About 30% of that came from licensing agreements and sales of merchandise like Commonwealth's plush toy line, as well as red-bird squeeze pillows, board games, Halloween costumes, the list of merchandise just goes on and on.
The TV won't be the last time you see the titular birds either.
A movie is also currently in development, and is being produced by "Despicable Me" producer John Cohen.
Cohen joins fellow Angry Birds movie staffers David Maisel, whose credits include former Chairman of Marvel Studios and executive producer of "Iron Man." Angry Birds has experimented with the silver screen before, teaming with "Rio" as part of a marketing tie-in, but this move brings them one step closer to a movie all their own.
Maisel spoke with IGN back in October about development of the movie, saying, "It's got to be everything that you'd expect from an Angry Birds movie as a fan of the game, plus so much more with surprises, innovative things, and twists," he explains. "It's something that we've worked already a lot on and we will over the next few years, but we're going to try to keep it as tight as possible so that when you go into that theater, it's an experience that you say, 'Wow, I didn't expect that.'"
