Angry Birds 3: Familiar Hero, New Digital Frontiers

DNEG Animation meticulously rebuilt Red for "The Angry Birds Movie 3," ensuring a familiar yet enhanced character. This involved reconstructing his fur, facial rig, and expressions, leading to a system that automated roughly 75% of character-effects work across the film's shots. While Red’s appearance was deliberately kept similar to respect fan expectations, new characters like Red and Silver's children, Glider and June, allowed for greater animation experimentation. The film’s production designer, Jeanie Chang, contributed a saturated tropical palette, posing lighting challenges that required individual adjustments for each character. The upcoming Paramount release, directed by John Rice, will open in theaters on December 23.

Innovations extended to unique character challenges, such as baby Olly's "Pancake Eyes" system, which simulated expressive eyes through his glasses. A significant efficiency gain was achieved through a performance-effects process, building on DNEG's prior work for "The Garfield Movie." This system automatically simulated effects on fur, feathers, and deformation post-animation approval, significantly increasing the percentage of automated shots from 25% to 75% during production. Additional tools were developed for creating props like ropes and hay, enhancing animator independence and workflow.