Angry Birds Toons
Birds guard eggs from pigs in weekly animated shorts.
Belliabderaouf8 · CC BY 4.0
Angry Birds Toons is a Finnish animated series of short episodes based on Rovio Entertainment's Angry Birds games. It follows the birds as they try to protect their eggs from pigs who want to steal them for their king to eat, along with stories about the birds and pigs themselves. New episodes came out each week from 2013 to 2016.
The main birds include Red, a temperamental desert cardinal and the flock's bossy, strict leader who struggles with anger but is devoted to protecting the eggs. Chuck is a fast-moving yellow Atlantic canary who is arrogant, narcissistic, and dumb, often causing trouble due to his need for attention, though he means well. Bomb is a laid-back, well-mannered black bird who can explode at will and acts like an older brother to the Blues. The Blues are three mischievous eastern bluebirds named Jay, Jake, and Jim who love pranks. Matilda is a white chicken and mother figure who prefers peaceful solutions but loses her temper when plans go wrong. Terence is a large, grumpy-looking dark crimson desert cardinal who communicates only with growls and grunts, rarely blinks, and moves by disappearing and reappearing when no one is looking. Bubbles is a small, inflatable orange bird who appears only in Halloween episodes, loves candy, and is mischievous but sweet.
The pigs include Corporal Pig, a militaristic pig with a helmet (accidentally glued to his head) who bullies others and serves King Pig. Foreman Pig is a construction engineer with a moustache and one blind eye who sometimes leads egg-stealing missions. King Pig is the gluttonous, lazy, and selfish ruler of Piggy Island, whose palace is often destroyed. Chef Pig is a devious pig in a chef hat who cooks for the king and sometimes betrays other pigs. Minion Pigs are dutiful but prefer fun, and they built a whole city for themselves. Professor Pig is an intelligent pig with square glasses who runs a science lab, often used for egg-stealing schemes. El Porkador is a large, strong fat pig used to intimidate the birds but lacks agility.
Rovio announced the series with 52 short episodes, produced by Finnish studio Kombo (bought by Rovio in 2011). Animation services were mainly done by Manila's Toon City using Toon Boom Harmony, with some episodes animated by Karrot Animation and Copenhagen Bombay using Flash.
- Country of origin
- Finland
- Format
- Short-form animated series
- Episode release period
- Weekly from 2013 to 2016
- Production company
- Kombo (Finnish animation studio, acquired by Rovio in June 2011)
- Animation studios
- Toon City (Manila), Karrot Animation (UK), Copenhagen Bombay (Denmark)
- Home media distributor
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Lore & Background
The series was announced by Rovio with 52 short episodes, produced by the Finnish animation studio Kombo, which Rovio bought in June 2011. Animation services were predominantly provided by Manila-based studio Toon City using Toon Boom Harmony, while British studio Karrot Animation and Danish studio Copenhagen Bombay provided animation for select episodes utilizing Flash animation. The series was made available worldwide on Angry Birds apps via Toons.TV, selected video-on-demand services, and select smart TVs.
The main bird characters include Red, a temperamental desert cardinal and leader; Chuck, a yellow Atlantic canary who can move incredibly fast; Bomb, a black bird who can cause explosions; the Blues, a trio of mischievous eastern bluebirds; Matilda, a white chicken mother figure; Terence, a large silent desert cardinal; and Bubbles, a small orange bird appearing only in Halloween-themed episodes. The pig characters include Corporal Pig, Foreman Pig, King Pig, Chef Pig, Minion Pigs, Professor Pig, and El Porkador.
Before the series started, Rovio made a Halloween special on 21 October 2011, a Christmas special aired on Nickelodeon on 17 December 2011, a Year of the Dragon special on 20 January 2012, and an Angry Birds Space prequel in March 2012. A book adaptation titled Angry Birds Toons Tales was published on January 1, 2016. Spin-offs include Piggy Tales (starting 11 April 2014), Angry Birds Stella, Angry Birds Blues (premiered 10 March 2017), Angry Birds BirLd Cup (summer 2018), and Angry Birds on the Run (released 17 November 2018).
Reader's Guide
Angry Birds Toons received positive reviews from critics and audiences. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the show four stars out of five, saying 'this gem of a series that doesn't overextend itself beyond the limits of the games themselves.' In his review of volumes 1 and 2 of season 1 DVD release, Michael Zupan of DVD Talk praised the series' characters, animation, and humour. He also described it as 'witty, hilarious and highly reminiscent of the days when we used to watch Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry.' The series was distributed globally via Toons.TV and selected video-on-demand services. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment handled home media distribution; while the first season received a Blu-ray release, later releases starting with season two were only available on DVD.
Did You Know?
- Bubbles is the only bird who does not appear with the rest of the flock.
- A running gag in the show is that King Pig's palace is constantly reduced to rubble.
- The first season received a Blu-ray release, but later seasons starting with season two were only available on DVD.
A Flock and a Piggy Court Built on Personality
The show's narrative engine is its sharply differentiated cast. Red, a temperamental desert cardinal, leads the flock with bossy strictness and poor anger management, yet remains the most devoted to keeping the eggs safe. Chuck, a triangular yellow canary capable of slowing time through sheer speed, is narcissistic and hero-complexed, regularly creating chaos in his bid for attention. Bomb, a black bird with a fuse-like feather, is laid-back and imaginative, filling a fatherly role for the youngest members. The Blues—Jay, Jake, and Jim—are mischievous eastern bluebirds who prank both sides. Matilda, a rosy-cheeked white chicken, channels a hippy mother energy, loving gardening, theatre, and peaceful solutions, though her patience is short. Terence, a massive dark crimson cardinal, communicates only in grunts, never blinks, and relocates by vanishing and reappearing when unwatched. The pig hierarchy mirrors this depth: King Pig is gluttonous and childishly fragile, Corporal Pig wears a helmet accidentally glued to his scalp, Chef Pig will betray even his own king, and the Minion Pigs, despite preferring simple fun, built an entire city.
A Multi-Nation Animation Pipeline
Rovio greenlit the series as a 52-episode short-form package, with production led by Kombo, the Finnish studio the company acquired in mid-2011. Nick Dorra, then head of animation at Rovio, publicly confirmed the weekly short-format rollout. The actual frame-by-frame work was split across three countries: Manila-based Toon City supplied the majority of animation services in Toon Boom Harmony, while the British studio Karrot Animation and the Danish studio Copenhagen Bombay contributed Flash-animated sequences for select episodes. This distributed pipeline—Finnish creative oversight, Filipino primary production, British and Danish supplementary work—gave the project a genuinely transnational manufacturing footprint. Distribution was equally global, reaching audiences through Angry Birds apps via Toons.TV, select video-on-demand platforms, and select smart TVs. The weekly release cadence ran from 2013 through 2016, keeping the franchise in constant rotation on screens worldwide.
Critical Praise and the Looney Tunes Comparison
Critics responded warmly to the series, with particular emphasis on its restraint and comedic craft. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media awarded four out of five stars, singling out the show's refusal to overextend beyond what the games already established, calling it a gem that respects its source material's boundaries. Michael Zupan of DVD Talk, reviewing the Season 1 Volumes 1 and 2 physical set, highlighted the character writing, animation quality, and humour as standout elements. He went further, drawing a direct line to classic American short-form cartooning, describing the series as witty, hilarious, and highly reminiscent of the Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry era. That framing positioned Angry Birds Toons not as a video-game adaptation in the conventional sense but as a successor to the gag-driven, episodic tradition of mid-twentieth-century animation. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment handled the physical releases, offering Season 1 on Blu-ray while Season 2 and beyond were limited to DVD.
Holiday Specials and Pre-Series World-Building
Before a single weekly episode aired, Rovio had already seeded the world with seasonal content that deepened the lore. On 21 October 2011, a Halloween special doubled as the trailer for the Angry Birds Seasons episode Ham'o'ween and simultaneously provided the origin story for Bubbles, the small inflatable orange spot-breasted oriole whose single-minded obsession is collecting candy and who is the only bird absent from the regular flock. Later that year, Nickelodeon broadcast Angry Birds: Wreck the Halls on 17 December 2011, a Christmas special later bundled as a bonus feature on the Season 1, Volume 1 DVD. In January 2012, the network aired Angry Birds: Year of the Dragon, a celebration of the Chinese New Year. These pre-series broadcasts, spanning Halloween, Christmas, and Lunar New Year, demonstrated a deliberate strategy of building cross-platform familiarity and tying the animated world to both the game's Seasons mode and broadcast television partnerships well before the 2013 weekly launch.
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