Angry Birds

media franchise by Rovio Entertainment Corporation

Angry Birds is a media franchise of puzzle video games developed by Rovio Entertainment from Finland. The series started on December 11, 2009, when the very first game was released for iPhone and iPad devices.

Angry Birds
The official logo used since 2015
GenresPuzzle
PublishersRovio Entertainment
CreatorsJaakko Iisalo
Platforms
Platform of originiOS
Year of inception2009
First releaseDecember 11, 2009
Latest releaseMarch 31, 2022

The Angry Birds series has around 50 games in total, including ones that were soft launched but never fully released. This also includes lots of spin-off games like Bad Piggies, which released on September 27, 2012.[1]

Because so many people liked this game, Rovio Mobile released new Angry Birds games with different stories and genres:

  1. Angry Birds: The first game in the series. A remake named Rovio Classics: Angry Birds was released in 2022, but was discontinued in 2023 and renamed to Red's First Flight.[2]
  2. Angry Birds Seasons: The second mainline game. It is similar to the first one, but each episode is based on a season, holiday or event.
  3. Angry Birds Rio: The third mainline game and a crossover with the Blue Sky Studios movies Rio and Rio 2.
  4. Angry Birds Friends: The fourth mainline game. It is an online version of Angry Birds on Facebook with new levels every week.
  5. Angry Birds Trilogy: A compilation of the first three games that can only be played on consoles.
  6. Angry Birds Space: The fifth mainline game. Set in outer space, this game adds zero-gravity physics on top of the original gameplay.
  7. Bad Piggies: The first spin-off. The pigs are playable in this, and need to be taken to the goal by building vehicles like cars, planes, or rockets.
  8. Angry Birds Star Wars: The sixth mainline game and a crossover with Star Wars. It is a parody of the movies A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.
  9. Angry Birds Star Wars II: The seventh mainline game. A sequel to the game above. It is a parody of the movies The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. Aside from the birds, players may also choose to play as the pigs as the "Pork Side."
  10. Angry Birds Go!: The second spin-off. It is a go-kart racing game and the first 3D game in the series.
  11. Angry Birds Epic: The third spin-off. It is a fantasy RPG.
  12. Angry Birds Stella: The seventh mainline game. Set on Golden Island, this game has the player use Stella and new birds from her flock.
  13. Angry Birds Transformers: The fourth spin-off and a crossover with Hasbro's Transformers franchise. It is a third-person shooter.
  14. Angry Birds POP!: The fifth spin-off. It is a bubble shooter and used to be called Angry Birds Stella POP!.
  15. Angry Birds Fight!: The sixth spin-off. It is a mix between a match-3 game and a fighting game.
  16. Angry Birds 2: The eighth mainline game and a sequel to the first game. It has an infinite amount of multistage levels and introduces new characters like Silver and Melody.
  17. Angry Birds Action!: The seventh spin-off. It is a pinball-styled game made to promote The Angry Birds Movie. Because of this, it is the first game to use the character designs from the movies.
  18. Angry Birds Match: The eighth spin-off. It is a tile-matching game.
  19. Angry Birds Dream Blast: The ninth spin-off. It is another tile-matching game.
  20. Angry Birds AR/VR: Isle of Pigs: The ninth mainline game and the first 3D mainline game. It can be played in augmented reality (AR) on mobile devices or in virtual reality (VR) on consoles.
  21. Angry Birds Explore: The tenth spin-off. It is the second game to use AR.
  22. The Angry Birds Movie 2: Under Pressure: The eleventh spin-off. It is a VR game made to promote The Angry Birds Movie 2.
  23. Angry Birds Reloaded: The ninth mainline game. It is exclusive to the Apple Arcade subscription service and contains remakes of levels from the first Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, and Angry Birds Space, while also being based on The Angry Birds Movie 2.
  24. Angry Birds: Bird Island: The twelfth spin-off game. It is an open-world MMORPG that is exclusive to Roblox.
  25. Angry Birds Journey: The tenth mainline game. It is similar to Angry Birds 2 but now has simpler designs and less birds to use.

Characters

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There are several kinds of birds and pig enemies in the game series. The birds are round, and do not have wings or feet. The pigs also have no feet and are all green. In the animated series and books, the characters have different personalities.

The Flock (main birds)

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  • Red is the angry leader of the flock. He likes taking care of the eggs. He does nothing but does make various battle cries when tapped and does great at popping pigs. In Angry Birds 2, his scream can push structures down.
  • The Blues (Jay, Jake, and Jim) are blue birds who are triplets. They love playing games and pulling pranks on others. In the games, they seem to appear as one bird. When the screen is tapped, they split into three smaller birds. They work best against glass. There is an animated series based on them called Angry Birds Blues.
  • Chuck is a yellow bird with a triangle body. He moves and acts fast, but he is very prideful. Chuck picks up speed and distance when tapped. His power works best against wood.
  • Bomb is a black bird that looks like a round bomb. When he feels strong emotions like anger, he explodes. In the games, he explodes when tapped or shortly upon impact. His explosions work the best against stone.
  • Matilda is a white bird who is sweet and friendly. She likes gardening and acts like a mother to the flock. In the games, she drops an egg bomb that explodes on impact when tapped and damages wood and stone the most.
  • Hal is a green toucan with a long beak. He is friendly and calm. Because of his beak, he comes back like a boomerang when tapped and damages wood and glass the most.
  • Terence is a large, dark red bird. He does not move or talk much, and mostly growls. He has no special abilities when tapped, but is heavy and destroys materials with ease.
  • Bubbles is an orange bird who was introduced in Angry Birds Seasons in the "Ham'o'Ween" update. He has lots of energy and loves eating candy on Halloween. He inflates to a huge size like a balloon when tapped or upon impact, then deflates a little later. He works best against wood.
  • Stella is a pink bird who was introduced in Angry Birds Seasons in the "Back to School" update. She is cheerful and bubbly, but she can get angry when somebody lets her down. In the old games, when tapped, she makes a bubble around her, and lifts up objects like blocks and pigs. The bubbles last for about 3 seconds. She had her own game and animated cartoon called Angry Birds Stella. In that game, she bounces off walls to attack.
  • Silver is a gray falcon who was introduced in Angry Birds 2 in 2015. She was raised by the pigs as a young bird. In the game, she loops in the sky and dives downwards. However, in The Angry Birds Movie 2, Silver is Chuck's sister who loves inventing.
  • Melody is a beige potoo introduced in Angry Birds 2 in 2022. She is calm and loves singing jazz music. She inhales nearby objects and spits them out.

Stella's flock

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  • Poppy is a light yellow cockatiel. She loves playing her drums and pulling pranks.
  • Luca is a light blue scrub jay and the only boy in Stella's flock. He is also the youngest bird, and he does not like to follow the rules.
  • Willow is a western crowned pigeon who wears a striped cap. She loves painting but is a bit shy.
  • Dahlia is a tan owl. She loves doing experiments and inventing.
  • Gale is a purple bird who used to be Stella's friend. She left Stella's flock after she found a crown, and is seen as a queen by the pigs of Golden Island. In the Angry Birds Stella cartoon, she tries to search for the Golden Egg with the pigs.

Other birds

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  • Mighty Eagle is a large bald eagle who lives in his cave. He is old and wise, but does not like being disturbed. He can appear by launching a can of sardines with the slingshot. When it hits the ground, he will cause an earthquake to defeat the pigs. In the original game, he must be purchased in-game for 99 cents to be used. He can be used for an unlimited number of times, except in Angry Birds Friends. In The Angry Birds Movie 2, he had an ex-wife named Zeta.
  • Zeta is the main villain of The Angry Birds Movie 2 and the leader of Eagle Island. She is a purple eagle who tries to destroy Bird Island and Piggy Island.
  • Ice Bird is an alien bird made of ice who appears in Angry Birds Space. He explodes and everything near him freezes to ice. This makes it easier for The Blues to destroy them.
  • Tony is Terence's cousin from Helsinki, Finland. They look almost the same, except Tony is light blue and has thicker feathers. He first appears in Angry Birds Seasons.
  • Jo is a turquoise and black bird-of-paradise who loves dancing. They are non-binary, and appeared quickly in Angry Birds 2 for LGBTQ Pride Month in 2023.
  • Ruby (then called Girl Bird or Female Red Bird) is a red bird who first appeared in the "Hogs and Kisses" update as Red's girlfriend. In 2024, a fan version where she is Red's younger sister became official in Angry Birds Friends. She is almost as angry as Red.
  • King Pig is the leader of the pigs of Piggy Island. He is a greedy, large pig who loves food. His goal is to get and eat the eggs of the Angry Birds.
  • Leonard is King Pig's father, who first appeared in The Angry Birds Movie. He is also called King Mudbeard because of his beard. He is playable in Angry Birds 2.
  • Foreman Pig is an old pig with a mustache. He is very bossy and wants work to be done quickly. He leads the pigs in building the structures.
  • Corporal Pig is a pig with a helmet. He is very angry and tries to train the Minion Pigs.
  • Chef Pig is King Pig's royal cook. He has a long, twirly mustache and a chef hat. He secretly wants to be the king instead of King Pig.
  • The Minion Pigs are the many smaller pigs who live in Piggy Island. King Pig rules them all. Minion Pigs love having fun, but King Pig commands them to steal the eggs.
    • Ross is a Minion Pig with freckles. In Bad Piggies, the player helps him build vehicles to steal the eggs.
    • Big Bork is a large pig in Angry Birds Space who loves eating food. He is the boss of the "Utopia" episode.
  • Professor Pig is an old pig who is very smart. He does not like the birds and pigs fighting.
  • Chronicler Pig is a pig who wears glasses and a judge wig. He is a historian and a judge.

Aside from making games, Angry Birds also released other media such as animated series and movies based on the characters from the games. The characters do not speak in most series.

TV series

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  • Angry Birds Toons: A comedy series that shows the daily life of the birds and the pigs. This series ran for three seasons from 2013 to 2016.
  • Piggy Tales: A stop-motion cartoon featuring the Minion Pigs. In its last two seasons, the show used the designs from The Angry Birds Movie. It ran from 2014 to 2019.
  • Angry Birds Stella: A show about Stella, her friends, and Gale in Golden Island. It is based on the Angry Birds Stella game. It ran from 2014 to 2016.
  • Angry Birds Blues: A show about the Blues (Jay, Jake, and Jim) and the hatchlings of Bird Island. The show used the designs from The Angry Birds Movie. It aired for one season in 2017.
  • Angry Birds on the Run: Unlike the other shows, this series is live-action, while the birds and pigs are plush toys. It ran from 2018 to 2020.
  • Angry Birds MakerSpace: Shows the birds and the pigs working in a company. The show uses the designs from The Angry Birds Movie. It began airing in 2019.
  • Angry Birds Slingshot Stories: This CGI series shows the birds and the pigs in simple stories based on the games. It began airing in 2020.
  • Angry Birds Bubble Trouble: In this show, the birds and the pigs are younger. It is based on the game Angry Birds Dream Blast. It began airing in 2022.
  • Angry Birds Summer Madness: A show about the adventures of Red, Chuck, Bomb, and Stella as teenagers in a summer camp. The show is streaming on Netflix since 2022.
  • Angry Birds Mystery Island: The adventures of three hatchlings and a pig stuck on an island. Unlike the other series, the main Angry Birds characters aren't the main characters. It started airing on Amazon Prime Video in 2024.

Movies

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Removal

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In early 2019, the original Angry Birds game, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Rio, the two Angry Birds Star Wars games, and others were removed. This caused mass outrage among the fanbase, who started a campaign called "#BringBack2012". Rovio responded by saying that the reason was because newer devices could not play the older games.

On March 31, 2022, a remade version of the original called Rovio Classics: Angry Birds was released for the App Store and Google Play. The Android version was removed in February 2023 and the iOS version was renamed to Red's First Flight.

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References

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  1. "A release date for Bad Piggies: The new game by Angry Birds bunch". Eurogamer.net. 4 September 2012.
  2. Peters, Jay (21 February 2023). "The classic version of Angry Birds is being delisted from Google Play but renamed on the App Store". The Verge. Retrieved 27 August 2024.