Fox Announces 'Angry Birds' Mobile Game Tied to 3D Toon 'Rio'

CORRECTED

Fox Film Entertainment co-chair Jim Gianopulos announced Friday there will be a special edition of the wildly popular mobile game app Angry Birds tied to upcoming 3D toon Rio.

Fox is the first Hollywood studio allowed to tap into the global success of Angry Birds, from Finnish company Rovio. Game can be played on smartphones and tablets, such as the iPad.

The marketing partnership was revealed at a press junket on the Fox lot, after footage from the pic -- with a voice cast led by Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway -- was shown.

Angry Birds Rio will be the title of the game, and it will be released in March, just ahead of the film's release on Apr. 15.   The two properties are ready made for each other.   Rio, from Fox and Blue Sky Studios, tells the story of a domesticated Macaw named Blu who never learned how to fly and lives in Minnesota with his loving and doting owner. The last male of his species, Blu is convinced to go to Rio to mate with his female counterpart. But he and Jewel are kidnapped and a great adventure ensues.   In the game Angry Birds Rio, the original Angry Birds are kidnapped and taken to Rio themselves, where they eventually escape their captors and set out to save their friends, Blu and Jewel.   Angry Birds has become a phenomenon, with 75 million downloads to date, the most ever for a mobile game.