Angry Birds launches cartoon series

The number one paid mobile app of all time launches spin-off animation

The game developer behind the ubiquitously popular Angry Birds game, where players throw birds at pigs, has now launched a cartoon based around the game.

Rovio, the Finnish company behind the highly addictive game, has now created the Angry Birds Toons animated series. The cartoon will launch on selected TV channels, video-on-demand services and across the range of Angry Birds apps for smartphones and tablets on March 16th.

Originally, Nick Dora, Rovio's head of animation, revealed plans for the animation series back in April of last year at MIPTV in Cannes, France. The plan was to launch the series in the later part of 2012, but it was rescheduled for this spring.

Dora said: "We want to combine the feel of cartoon classics with modern twists on an unprecedented scale. Our team has been working tremendously hard to once again delight our fans with a new way to experience these loveable characters".

There will be a total of 52 Angry Birds Toons episodes spanning the next twelve months, with a new episode airing each weekend, beginning on Saturday March 16th on participating TV channels and Sunday March 17th on Angry Birds apps, supported video-on-demand services, smart TVs and connected devices.
Samsung Smart TVs will support the new Angry Birds Toons channel on launch day, but other platforms, such as Roku set-top boxes and other platforms yet to be announced, are expected to launch in the near future.

The current list of global TV partners is as follows:

FOX8 in Australia
JEI TV in Korea
ANTV in Indonesia
Cartoon Network in India
MTV3 Juniori and MTV3 in Finland
The Children's Channel in Israel
1+1 networks in Ukraine
Gulli and Canal J in France
SUPER RTL in Germany
TV2 in Norway
Canal 13 in Chile
Gloob in Brazil

No UK or US TV channels have been announced so far, although Comcast in the US have confirmed that they will have the channel available on all of their respective video platforms. The latest Angry Birds app updates will provide access to the official Toons channel, which you’ll find on the app's homescreen from March 17th onwards.

Angry Birds is now the number one paid mobile app of all time. The company has racked up more than 1.7 billion downloads to date, with 700 million of them taking place over the last ten months alone. With Angry Birds clothes, toys, games, electronics, accessories, media partnerships, and even confectionary availablle, Rovio's CEO Mikael Hed has admitted he wants his brand to become a "fully fledged entertainment powerhouse".