DNEG Animation Rebuilds Red for The Angry Birds Movie 3
DNEG Animation automated character-effects work on roughly 75% of the film’s shots for The Angry Birds Movie 3, Variety reported. The studio took over animation duties from Sony Pictures Animation, which produced the first two films in the franchise. Paramount scheduled the upcoming release for December 23, 2026. The production reunited Jason Sudeikis’ character Red with Silver, voiced by Rachel Bloom, as the characters navigated parenthood alongside a new adventure directed by John Rice.
Technical Handover and Rebuilding Red from Scratch
The technical transition proved complex because proprietary grooming, rigging, and surfacing tools from the previous films could not transfer to DNEG’s pipeline. VFX supervisor Patrick Harboun described the starting point at View Conference in Turin by displaying a bare digital model.
“We had to start from this. A plucked chicken version of Red,” Harboun said.
The studio reworked the underlying geometry before reconstructing the feathers. Animators chose to keep Red recognizable rather than apply a radical redesign, giving his plumage a softer look while firming up his eyes and beak to create toy-like surfaces. The team studied earlier movies frame by frame to catalog beak angles, narrowed eye geometry, and the boundaries of stretched facial expressions.
Automation and Performance Effects for 75 Percent of Shots
The production achieved its highest efficiency gains through a performance-effects system that built on DNEG’s earlier work on The Garfield Movie. Once animators finished a character’s animation, the system automatically simulated selected effects on fur, feathers, and mesh deformation. It then rendered a preview and flagged shots that required bespoke artist attention.
Harboun clarified that the technology relied on human curation rather than automated intelligence.
“It’s not machine learning, it’s human learning,” Harboun said, noting that artists maintained the reusable templates.
Early in production, the automated process handled about 25% of shots. By later stages, that figure increased to 75%. Harboun emphasized that the percentage applied strictly to character-effects processing rather than entire shots completed without artists. The studio also developed a secondary layer of hidden fur to prevent bald patches during extreme character stretching, alongside one-click asset tools for ropes, hay, and props.
Expanding Bird Island with Pigtropolis and New Characters
The film introduces over 20 new characters, including Red and Silver’s children: Glider, an aspiring athlete voiced by Walker Scobell; June, a temperamental character played by Emma Myers; and baby Olly, voiced by Psalm West. The family also features a pet spider named Fuzzy, voiced by James Austin Johnson.
Baby Olly presented a unique design obstacle because his glasses doubled as his animated eyes, complete with moving lids and brows. DNEG resolved this by duplicating and flattening portions of the rig behind the lenses—a solution the crew nicknamed “Pancake Eyes.” Production designer Jeanie Chang utilized a saturated tropical palette, requiring artists to paint lighting references directly over layout images so differently colored characters maintained consistent hues in shared scenes. The production also expanded Bird Island to include Pigtropolis, a city for the franchise’s pig residents, and shifted its opening sequence from night to day late in the schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Angry Birds Movie 3
When is The Angry Birds Movie 3 scheduled to release in theaters?
Paramount scheduled the theatrical release for December 23, 2026. VFX supervisor Patrick Harboun recommended that audiences view the film in 3D despite typically disliking the format.
Which studio produced the third installment in the franchise?
DNEG Animation handled the production for the third film, taking over animation duties from Sony Pictures Animation, which produced the first two movies.
Who voices the new members of Red and Silver’s family?
Walker Scobell voices the aspiring athlete Glider, Emma Myers plays the temperamental June, Psalm West voices baby Olly, and James Austin Johnson voices their pet spider, Fuzzy.
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