International Licensing Partners for The Angry Birds Movie

LOS ANGELES/ESPOO: Rovio Entertainment has announced several worldwide licensing partnerships ahead of the launch of The Angry Birds Movie, with LEGO and Hasbro among the key licensees.

LEGO is slated to roll out a collection of six building sets that will include digital integration with the Angry Birds Action! game. Hasbro, meanwhile, will release a special branded version of the classic board game Chutes and Ladders. Additionally, Spin Master has developed collectible figures, play sets and games, with H&M producing an exclusive line of children’s apparel and Amscan developing party supplies and kids’ costumes.

Also, HarperCollins, National Geographic and Centum will print books in various formats, while Sellers Publishing will make calendars.

Some of the other licensees include Commonwealth for plush based on the movie’s characters; World Tech Toys, which will build colorful drones based on the film’s main characters; SCS Direct for seasonal outdoor play products; and Kid Designs, which will be releasing electronic accessories like headphones, speakers and phone cases. Brunswick will create a branded scoring system for bowling alleys based on the look of the Angry Birds game; Rubie’s is making costumes for kids and adults; Inkology will release pencils, plush pens, notebooks, binders and more; Dr. Fresh is creating branded toothbrushes and mouthwash; SunStaches will build sunglasses featuring the famous Angry Birds eyebrows; Jay Franco will be making comforters, blankets, sheets and pillow buddies; and Painting Lulu will create paper-to-digital coloring packs for kids.

“Our licensing partners recognized immediately the significant consumer appeal of this highly anticipated film,” said Darren Kyman, the head of retail and new business development for North America at Rovio Entertainment. “We made sure that the merchandise provides consumers many cool, new ways to engage with their favorite feathered friends and bring the Angry Birds story world to life.”

Rovio also announced an agreement with Alibaba Group that covers consumer product licensing with international brands and exclusive online retail in China.

As part of the agreement, Alibaba is the exclusive online retail partner in China for The Angry Birds Movie, with most of the products on sale or pre-order before the movie’s May 20 launch.

“We are thrilled to partner with Alibaba Group on The Angry Birds Movie’s consumer products program,” said Alex Lambeek, the chief commercial officer of Rovio. “The movie is a major milestone for Rovio, and the cooperation with Alibaba is also a new opportunity for us to bring the Angry Birds brand to the world’s leading e-commerce platform. We believe our cooperation with Alibaba can only increase our brand value while also delighting hundreds of millions of fans in China.”

Tian Po, the general manager for licensing cooperation at Alibaba, said: “By introducing a number of internationally renowned brands like Angry Birds to the Alibaba ecosystem, we will be able to recommend them to the existing brands already doing business on our retail platforms for creating new licensed products. In this way, we empower sellers and intellectual-property-rights owners alike with more licensing opportunities and help fuel their commercial growth.”