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They made the film funnier, better: 'Angry Birds 2' producer John Cohen on star-studded voice cast

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Press Trust of India Bali

With celebrated actors and comedians like Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, Awkwafina and Sterling K Brown, "The Angry Bird Movie 2", is surely going to be fun ride, says producer John Cohen.

The Sony Pictures Animation project also has Jason Sudeikis returning as Red, Bill Hader reprising King Leonard and Maya Rudolph voicing Matilda.

"We are so lucky to have these people in the movie and they are so talented and so funny in the movie. What happens is you develop the characters and at the same time have in your mind a wishlist of the people you hope to get in. We are so happy to get all the people we wanted," Cohen said in a group interview here.

 

The producer said, even though they design the characters based on the script of the film, it is always fun to have the actors improvising and adding something special to the story.

"When we go into the process of casting we meet actors and discuss the characters and when in the studio, we start recording and then we see what they are bringing to the character. That does influence what we do with the character going forward from that point. Because we do start to tailor the character to specific actors and their comic sensibilities," he added.

The movie features Dinklage as Ethan "Mighty" Eagle and Cohen revealed that the actor was busy with the final season of epic fantasy drama "Game of Thrones" while also dubbing for "Angry Birds 2".

"Peter Dinklage is extraordinary and so funny. We were recording with him when he was filming the final season of 'Game of Thrones'. He would come into our recording studio and we could make out that he has had a very serious and tough day. But then he had so much fun in being silly and funny," the producer said.

Praising the rest of the cast, Cohen added that the contribution of the voice stars is immense in making the film funnier and better.

"Each of the actors we have in the movie is a gifted writer and improvise... Leslie Jones, Bill Hader and Awakafina do with scripted lines, but they would add something of their own.

"Actors like Josh Gad and Rachel Bloom they come with the writing they have done in advance. They have ideas and it continues to make the film better and funnier."

Cohen, who has been on-board the project since the first film, which was based on Rovio Entertainment's "Angry Birds" video game series, said the success of the 2016 movie motivated them to come up with a sequel.

"A lot of time when people approach movies, they plan sequels well in advance. But we were so excited to have the opportunity to make the first 'Angry Birds' movie and really bring the key things from the games to life.

"And when that movie became a success, we found that we will be able to make a second film, we hit the ground at that very moment in 2016."

While "The Angry Birds" was completely based on the game, Cohen said with the sequel there is a shift in their approach.

"Now we don't think about these characters as the characters from a game but as a character from the movie world. So, to be able to make a sequel based on the established movie franchise was an exciting opportunity.

"We are hopeful that the fans of the first of movie will enjoy the second part. We are proud of this film," he added.

"The Angry Birds Movie 2" released on Friday.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Aug 23 2019 | 2:30 PM IST

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