Lego is truly universal -- its licenses cover everything from Doctor Who to Batman, The Wizard of Oz to Scooby-Doo. The beloved plastic brick can now add Angry Birds to its roster, with the reveal of a wave of kits set to tie in with the upcoming Angry Birds Movie.
The animated film -- which sees Jason Sudeikis voicing main bird Red, reluctantly drawn into tropical island politics when the troublesome Bad Piggies arrive -- will spawn six Lego sets, targeting different price points. "Piggy Car Escape" comes with the yellow bird, named Chuck for the movie, and a pig, with a hot-rod style vehicle. "Piggy Plane Attack" is the first set to include Red, with a catapult to fling him at the pigs' biplane. "Bird Island Egg Heist" packs in another Red, white bird Matilda, and a Biker Pig, along with a Harley Davidson-inspired motorbike and Matilda's house.
At the larger end of the scale, there's "Pig City Showdown", a destructible city-scape with Red, pink bird Stella, and two pigs, and "Piggy Pirate Ship", a huge galleon with another Red minifig, explosive black bird Bomb, Pirate Pig, and Leonard, a long-suffering minordomo pig from the film. "King Pig's Castle" is the crowning achievement of the series though -- a massive build that comes with three porcine characters, yet another Red, and a bigfig of Mighty Eagle.
Given the franchise's focus on knocking down pig buildings, expect all kits to feature similar easy-to-destroy mechanics as found in the Lego Minecraft kits. Lego has also launched anAngry Birds minisitefor the line.
Lego aside, there's a lot riding on The Angry Birds Movie. Developer Rovio announced major job losses in August 2015, and lost CEO Pekka Rantala in December. A new surge of interest in the property could be a lifeline for the gaming company.
The Angry Birds movie opens 20 May 2016, and also features actors Josh Gad as Chuck, Danny McBride as Bomb, Peter Dinklage as the Mighty Eagle, Maya Rudolph as Matilda, and Bill Hader as Leonard. The Lego kits will be on sale from April.