Where do mean pigs take their kidnapped angry bird victims? To Rio, of course! In fact, their South American plight will be chronicled in Rovio’s March launch of the Angry Birds Rio video game, followed by a mainstream movie put out by Twentieth Century Fox.
From the creators of cartoon hit Ice Age, Angry Birds Rio is expected to be in movie theaters by April.
Aside from a partnership on the movie, Rovio and Twentieth Century Fox will embark on a full out merchandising campaign complete with TV spots, posters, and the film’s website.
Angry Birds already has its own Mattel board game and TV show in the works, so the enhanced exposure will only server to further the game’s worldwide fame.
That or the franchise will simply oversaturate the market and implode by the time the movie is ready.
“It’s about taking that traditional entertainment experience – whether in theaters or on the TV screen – and creating a new level of engagement,” says Peter Levinsohn, president of new media and digital distribution for 20th Century Fox.
“We are like birds of a feather,” said “Mighty Eagle” Peter Vesterbacka of Rovio. “This gets us massive global visibility, as if we had made our own movie.”
What began as a Finnish phenomena, Angry Birds has become global as it continues to break records worldwide. Angry Birds also marks the first gaming crossover from video game app to mainstream movie and TV shows, giving new hope to app builders everywhere.
(Via PC World)
