Angry Birds land a cartoon series – An interview with Nick Dorra
Nick Dorra at MIPTV — Copyright MIPTV 2012
Are you one of the 700 million people who idle away the hours flinging Angry Birds at grumpy green pigs when you probably should be animating… I know I am. Well then you may be interest to hear that a weekly cartoon series is set to debut this autumn.
The Finland-based company Rovio have announced an initial run of 52 episodes starring the Angry Birds cast. Just like the birds themselves, these will be short and sweet, as each cartoon will only run between two and three minutes.
Speaking recently at the MIPTV conference in Cannes, Rovio’s head of animation Nick Dorra said “we’re going to roll it out on all possible devices… we want to be on all screens”. Rovio is working to make it available on a screens near you, including smart phones, tablets, computers and television. They have already struck a deal with Samsung to include their app on its Smart TVs.
And if the prospect of a cartoon series is not enough, there is an Angry Birds feature film in the pipeline too. Dorra told the audience that a film was in development but wouldn’t be released until 2013 or 2014. Rovio recently recruited former Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel as an adviser, so are we likely to see X-Birds or Spiderpig (oh no hang on that one has already been done).
Well enough of this speculation, I caught up with the man himself Nick Dorra and asked him to tell us more about these plans.
Q. Hi Nick, thank you so much for talking to Skwigly today. How long have you been working on the idea of catapulting the Angry Birds into their own weekly cartoon series?
The idea was formed a while ago, and goes back to the ‘Angry Birds Cinematic Trailer’…
The short performed really well right from the beginning, so we decided to put out a few more. As we saw our fans embracing the new films as well, we knew we had to delight them even more. A weekly series is our way of saying “thanks for all the love!”
Q. Can you tell us more about how each episode will work? Will the birds be given their own voices or narration, or is it all squawks and snorts?
They’ll communicate in their own, expressive way, as in our games.
Q. How does developing a cartoon series differ from producing a multiplatform game?
It is a different beast, albeit with some similarities. Both need strong characters, a hook and perfect execution.
Q. What animation software will you be using to create the series? How important is for you to stay true to the original designs?
The designs are key and need to be respected, but they of course evolve. If you compare the first short with our latest…
you can see a lot of evolution in the characters as well as with the backgrounds etc. As long as they remain easily recognizable, the characters can adapt to different platforms and formats.
Q. Creating a new episode every week for a year is a daunting task. How many animators will be working on an average episode?
The core crew for production is five animators and a technical artist. However you need to add all the development, the scripts, the director, backgrounds, layouts, props and additional character design, sound & music, production staff etc, so it varies quite a lot from one episode to another.
Q. How do you hope to attract new fans outside of the game playing world? Is your target audience children or are you hoping to appeal to all ages?
The series is aimed at a family audience. It’s important to us that parents want their kids to watch our show, but also watch it with them. So we’re definitely targeting a wide audience across demographics.
Q. You announced recently that an Angry Birds film is in the pipeline for 2013 or 2014. Can you tell us anything more about the film?
It was originally announced in 2011, but there’s not much to talk about yet. It’s in development with former Marvel chairman David Maisel as our special advisor.
Q. Will it be difficult to maintain an audiences interest in the characters for a feature length film? Is there a story idea already in mind for this project?
We’ve created a really detailed background story on the birds, pigs, and the world they live in. The series will give the fans a first glimpse, but will never be able to cover it all. Just sit back and let us surprise you!
Q. And finally, you have said you want to branch out into cartoons using Disney as you model. Do you believe the Angry Birds franchise has what it takes to last for many years to come?
I do believe that if handled correctly, there’s no reason why Angry Birds wouldn’t be around in 80 years’ time. It’s a matter of careful choices, great characters and respecting the brand.