Given the poor history of video game movies, it's pretty easy to immediately question why Angry Birds is getting its own film. After all, the game is just about launching birds into pigs and collecting eggs. Stupid as it may seem, however, the star of the upcoming project, Josh Gad, has ensured audiences that the feature is not what people are expecting, and will surprise a lot of people upon its release.
It was while sitting down with IGN to promote his new movie Pixels that Josh Gad explained why people shouldn't just write off the upcoming blockbuster. He noted that he himself was hesitant to have faith in the project - partially for personal reasons - but was ultimately convinced to be a part of the film after sitting through a pitch meeting and seeing what the filmmakers behind Angry Birds have to offer. He said,
When I was approached about it, I actually said no - for many reasons, the most significant of which was I did Olaf [in Frozen] and I don't want to play another animated character, especially right now. The producer was like ‘Just let me kind of pitch out this movie to you’ and did this reel for me of what he was thinking about, and it was this 30-minute visual pitch and it blew my socks off.
Sadly, Gad didn't really go into any details about exactly what Angry Birds will be about, but he did cite some titles that he believes are fair comparisons to what the folks behind the new movie are looking for. Describing the tone, content and look of the feature, he explained,
It’s really irreverent, and like that LEGO Movie sensibility it’s subversive and funny and unexpectedly smart and really beautiful. Actually gorgeous. The little I’ve seen of it has really impressed me.
In the past year and a half or so, there have been a number of titles early in development that have been compared to Phil Lord and Chris Miller's work on The LEGO Movie. While I would definitely love to believe that Angry Birds comes out as well as the 2014 hit (we should root for all films to be good!), there is a part of me that wonders if the comparison isn't so much a reference to an irreverent or meta tone, but instead just a way for filmmakers and stars to sell people on an idea that really doesn't sound good on paper. Of course, at this point in time it's too early to judge.
Set to be directed by the team of Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly, Angry Birds features an all-star cast beyond just Josh Gad, as the actor will be joined by Peter Dinklage, Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, Danny McBride, and Bill Hader in the film. The film is currently in the midst of production, but is currently set to be released by Sony Pictures Animation on May 20, 2016.
