In the CG animated comedy The Angry Birds Movie 2, three flightless angry birds and the scheming green piggies take their beef to the next level.
The Sony Pictures Animation presentation in association with Rovio Entertainment is directed by Thurop Van Orman and produced by John Cohen. The screenplay is by Peter Ackerman and Eyal Podell & Jonathon E. Stewart.
Director Thurop Van Orman is making his big-screen directorial debut after helming the popular Cartoon Network series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Adventure Time with Finn & Jake.
The filmmakers were eager to explore a new chapter in the saga of the flightless birds. “We were so excited that The Angry Birds Movie took the world by storm and created a worldwide fanbase,” says producer John Cohen. “Audiences enjoyed seeing the recognizable characters from the game come to life on the big screen, and we couldn’t wait to jump on the opportunity to expand the universe.”
“All of a sudden, the pigs want a truce? Why? Because there’s another island that’s hurling unidentified flying objects – some kind of ice bombs – into their respective neighborhoods. So, the pigs have to pair up with the birds, which kinda bums Red out a little bit. He’s not sure he can maintain his hero status, but he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do, right?”
The enemies must become frenemies, and form a superteam comprised of Red, Chuck, Bomb, Leonard, the majestic but deeply flawed Mighty Eagle and new recruits, Silver, Chuck’s savvy sister, and an engineer with all the answers; Courtney , Leonard’s cute and sassy assistant; and Garry, a grumpy porcine scientist who provides all of Piggy Island’s high tech.
The new motley crew discovers that winter is coming to their islands via the icy projectiles being fired from Eagle Island, over which Zeta reigns with the help of chief scientist Glenn . Tired of the frozen conditions of her world, Zeta decides to seize Bird and Piggy Islands to create a new paradise – for herself.
As the heroes race to save their homes, a parallel adventure is unfolding, as the beloved and mega-cute Hatchlings (young baby birds) introduced in The Angry Birds Movie, are up to their old tricks, via a role-playing-game-gone-wrong – proving that no hatchling is too small to dream big!
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
THUROP VAN ORMAN (Director) is an American animator, voice artist, writer, producer, and director known for creating the animated series “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.” Van Orman studied character animation at the California Institute of the Arts, then went on to work as a writer and storyboard artist for “The Powerpuff Girls,” “Camp Lazlo,” and “The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.” He is known for producing “Adventure Time,” “Sanjay and Craig,” “Home: Adventure’s with Tip and Oh,” and lending his voice to “Gravity Falls” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” He has been nominated for two Emmys for his work on “Adventure Time with Finn and Jake” and “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.”
JOHN COHEN (producer) Cohen previously produced The Angry Birds Movie, based on Rovio’s bestselling game. It opened at No. 1 in 54 countries and earned $352 million worldwide. Angry Birds is one of the world’s biggest entertainment franchises and the No. 1 app of all time. The game has over four billion downloads. Cohen produced Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures’ Despicable Me in 2010. The film earned more than $540 million worldwide and launched a 3.5-billion-dollar franchise. Hop, based on Cohen’s original story idea, was released in 2011 and became the No. 1 movie in North America for two consecutive weeks. Cohen executive produced the film, which starred James Marsden, Kaley Cuoco, Russell Brand, Hugh Laurie, and Hank Azaria. Prior to Illumination, Cohen was Vice President of Production at Twentieth Century Fox Animation. He worked closely with Blue Sky Studios on films including Ice Age, Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who. The third film in the Ice Age series, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, was based on an original story concept by Cohen. Cohen had the idea to reimagine Alvin and the Chipmunks and developed the 2007 film. He worked closely with the creators to oversee the re-design of the characters and launch the brand for a new generation. Alvin and the Chipmunks grew into a billion-dollar franchise for Twentieth Century Fox. Also at Fox, Cohen forged a relationship with the family of late “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz, introducing them to Blue Sky Studios. He developed and oversaw production of a CG-animated short film featuring Snoopy and Woodstock, in collaboration with the Schulz estate, and initiated creative exploration of The Peanuts Movie. Prior to joining Twentieth Century Fox, Cohen worked for Scott Rudin Productions in New York. He graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts film program at New York University. Cohen is currently producing a fully animated reboot of Garfield with Alcon Entertainment.
PETER ACKERMAN (Screenwriter) was most recently a co-executive producer on “Amazing Stories” for Apple, and is writing Badalisc for Onyx Films. He recently was a co-executive producer on “The Americans” on FX. Ackerman also wrote and executive produced DirecTV’s first comedy series “Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight,” an adaptation of his Off-Broadway play of the same name. Previously, he worked on Muncle Trogg for Sony Pictures Animation. Ackerman was one of the credited writers on the original Ice Age.In theater, Ackerman’s adaptation of “The Pajama Game” for Broadway, which starred Harry Connick, Jr., won the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. His children’s book The Lonely Phone Booth was selected for the Smithsonian’s 2010 Notable Books for Children and produced as a musical at the Manhattan Children’s Theater.
EYAL PODELL (Screenwriter) is an actor and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he is best known for his work on Pixar’s Cars 3, which debuted #1 in the summer of 2017. With writing partner Jonathon Stewart, Podell has been steadily working in the animation, writing on features for Warner Animation Group, Sony Animation, Dreamworks Animation, Fox Animation and Paramount. Podell & Stewart are also busy in live action features, currently writing for Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu. In 2012, Podell & Stewart burst onto the scene with spec screenplay Seuss, a biopic about the legendary author, which earned the #2 slot on Hollywood’s Black List. Seuss is currently set up with Stephen Chbosky (Wonder, Perks of Being a Wallflower) set to direct for Sierra Affinity / E-One and Endeavor Content. On the acting front, Podell has accrued a long list of small screen credits as a regular, recurring character and guest star. He is most well known for his arcs on the FOX’s hit drama “24,” CBS’s “NCIS” franchise, and a two year run on #1 rated daytime soap, “The Young and the Restless.”
JONATHON E. STEWART (Screenwriter) is a screenwriter best known for Disney /Pixar’s Cars 3, which debuted #1 in the summer of 2017. With writing partner Eyal Podell, Stewart recently completed work on the animated feature Smallfoot for the Warner Animation Group, and is currently working on Scooby-Doo reboot SCOOB and Zero, an original feature at WAG. Podell & Stewart are also currently writing a live-action feature for Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu and have written screenplays for Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, ABC Studios, STX, Paramount Animation, Sony Animation, Fox Animation and others. In 2012, Podell & Stewart’s screenplay Seuss, a biopic about the legendary author—earned the #2 slot on Hollywood’s Black List, and is currently set up with Stephen Chbosky (Wonder, Perks of Being a Wallflower) set to direct for Sierra Affinity / E-One and Endeavor Content.