Angry Birds

Several weeks ago I was invited by the folks behind the Angry Birds movie to fly to Hawaii to speak with the stars. Generally we try to steer towards science and science-fiction films when we do any sort of coverage for movies - we are SlashGear, after all - but this film is something special. Rovio - creators of the Angry Birds franchise - carved out a unique chapter in the history of the smartphone. Could they convince us that a movie needed to be made? Could Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, and Josh Gad convince us?

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Speaking with three of the main actors in The Angry Birds Movie this past week, we happened upon a realization of sorts. This movie is packed with well-known actors of all sorts - most of whom have done both live-action acting and animation (voice) work as well. This is a film where an actor would be forgiven for forgetting the entire cast list of fellow actors - especially if they had no scenes with them in the same studio. In fact with so few lines in the film, it's not out of the question to assume that Sean Penn didn't spend nearly as much time in the recording booth as the rest of the cast. As such, it's easy to forget he was there at all.

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This past week we had the opportunity to speak with Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, and Josh Gad, all of whom told us which superhero they'd be OK with playing in a film in the future. These three are all currently in The Angry Birds Movie - we were at the press junket for said movie, and due to the content of said movie, our conversation dove in on superheroes rather quickly. Be it animated or live-action - which roles would these comedians take if given the opportunity?

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The Angry Birds franchise has finally gotten large enough to hit the big screen, and just a few weeks after having been revealed with an initial trailer, today we get a little song. This song has the "Hatchlings" showing off their singing skills in a brief interlude. You're going to tap it, you're going to hear it, it's going to be a great experience for you. They're going to sing "Deck the Halls" here, and maybe - just maybe - in the movie too. But we'll see.

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One of the most popular mobile games of the decade is Angry Birds. The game was so popular that it made Rovio, the developer of the game. We have known for a while now that a movie based on the Angry Birds game was in the works. The release date is set for sometime in 2016. I’m sure many have bene wondering what the movie would be like and now we know thanks to the release of the first official trailer for the film.

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Today we're having a peek at the next big release from Rovio, the game called Angry Birds 2. The name is a strange one, coming from a company that's actually releasing its THIRTEENTH Angry Birds game this week, but it is a return to the basics... in a sense... anyway. No seasons here, no special characters or cross-brand relationships. Just Angry Birds and their popping of Pigs. And a whole lot of extras. Lots of extras. So many extra features that you're going to get confused at what you're looking at.

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If you have owned a smartphone in the last several years, odds are you have played Angry Birds or one of the spin off games in the franchise. Angry Birds is one of the most popular mobile games in the world and today gamers will have a new edition to the franchise to check out. Angry Birds 2 lands on Google Play today.

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Angry Birds might be feeling dated, but it still enjoys a massive user base and as such presses on. The latest announcement from Rovio arrived today, and it brings good news for faithful gamers: Angry Birds 2 will be arriving on July 30. Rovio brags about its download numbers (three billion or so at this point), as well as the large number of spinoffs, gear, and other notable moments marking the game’s life. What it wasn't so wordy about is the game itself.

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If the news that an Angry Birds movie was being made was enough to make you groan, get ready to feel that way all over again. The company behind the bird-flinging property, Rovio Entertainment, has just announced it's partnering with LEGO to release a set of toys next year. The movie, to be distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment, is scheduled to hit theaters in spring 2016, with the Angry Birds LEGO sets hitting shelves around the same time (fan creations are pictured above, not the official sets).

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Rovio is about to try its luck with a Candy Crush-LIKE game, I suppose we should say. Not like it's the same game - and not like there isn't a precedent for creating games like this, like Bejeweled turning into a game about candy, or anything like that. And forbid it that there ever be a game like Bejeweled that takes what Dr. Mario was - or what Tetris was - and evolves it into something entirely new, with a smidgen of the old game in its bones.

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Call it one heck of a lucky deal, or a brilliant way to conduct a closeout sale by Target in Canada, either way, one woman got much more than she bargained for. The mother went to a local Target store looking for discounts, as the retailer recently announced it was leaving the Canadian retail market, and purchased a copy of the Angry Birds Star Wars: Battle on Geonosis Telepods board game for only $5.99 for her son. But inside were two bags of marijuana.

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There's a new Jolla-based Android launcher in town, and it has Stella to thank. Not the Stella you're thinking of - the Stella Angry Bird from the Rovio-made game series. And before you freak out and say "I will never, ever use an Angry Birds-based anything on my Android", take a look a bit closer at this piece of work. It's surprisingly well done, and might just shock you into controlling your Android smartphone in a whole new way - a whole new way, that is, if you've never used Jolla's Sailfish OS before.

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