Angry Birds Rio 20th Century Fox

The developers at Rovio Mobile look to be very busy in 2011. Just as we reported that Rovio Mobile announced new Valentine's Day levels for Angry Birds Seasons, Rovio Mobile has made public that it will release an Angry Birds tie-in game for 20th Century Fox's upcoming animated film, Rio, called Angry Birds Rio.

The film, made by the creators of the successful Ice Age franchise, focuses on Blu, a domesticated Macaw living in Minnesota with his owner, Linda. When Blu and his owner discover that he may be the last of his kind except for one female Macaw in Rio de Janeiro named Jewel, they head down to Rio find her. Hijinks naturally ensue as both Blu and Jewel are kidnapped by animal smugglers. You can learn more about this 3-D movie, featuring voice work from Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg, from our partners-in-crime over at Screen Rant here.

In Angry Birds Rio, the animal smugglers capture the protagonists of Angry Birds and transport them to Rio de Janeiro. After using their naturally angry ways to escape captivity, they attempt to rescue both Blu and Jewel. You can see how the Angry Birds end up in their predicament in the following clip:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7gIpfrQdAI

Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio Mobile, explained why Angry Birds was expanding its brand to the movie industry:

"Angry Birds Rio is a match made in heaven for a mobile application and a major motion picture, and this collaboration with Fox is definitely one the most exciting partnerships we have entered into with the Angry Birds brand to date. In addition to expanding the horizons of two fantastic entertainment brands and creating a great new gaming experience, we have also taken the concept of combining a mobile application and motion picture promotion to an entirely new level."

Angry Birds Rio will feature 45 levels, and like the original, will receive updates that will add new levels. Angry Birds on the consoles, an Angry Birds board game, and now a movie tie-in. Have the Angry Birds creators jumped the shark or is this a brilliant marketing move by Rovio Mobile and 20th Century Fox?

Angry Birds Rio will release some time in March 2011 on smartphones and tablets. Rio will hit theaters on April 15, 2011.

Source: Official Rio Site