Naysayers be damned, Sony Pictures Animation is pushing ahead with its high-profile Angry Birds film – and now we have the first images to prove it.
Debuting ahead of the full trailer next week, the screenshots are but a taster of the project’s animation style, which is truly something to behold. But will it be enough to dispel any lingering doubts? Unlikely. But one of the main tenets that has us at least cautiously optimistic for the licensed project is its ensemble cast, not to mention the fact that it is being hyped up as an origins story between the devious swine and flightless birds.
Situated on Bird Island, Angry Birds will actually begin in a time when the two factions exist in harmony with one another, and the film itself will chart their descent into full-blown rivalry. Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis are behind the lens for this one, and they’re no slouches in the animation world, having previously worked across variety of other like-minded productions including Wreck-It Ralph, Bolt and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. In essence, this is a film that will explore – or at least create – the story of how the titular avians got their famed title.
“The question we get asked more than any other is ‘Why are the birds so angry?” says producer John Cohen. “This movie is going to be the origin story of how that conflict came to exist.”
Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Josh Gad, Keegan-Michael Key, Peter Dinklage and Jason Sudeikis are all on board for the CG animation, with the latter lending his vocal chords to the film’s leading avian, Red.
Sony’s Angry Birds film is due to land on these shores come May 20, 2016. Stay tuned to We Got This Covered next week when we’ll have full coverage of the animation’s first trailer.
