'Angry Birds' movie to be produced by Vancouver animation company

This undated image released by Rovio shows a poster of the company's Angry Birds app.

VANCOUVER -- The worldwide phenomenon "Angry Birds" will be bringing its furious fowl and evil green pigs to Vancouver as it makes its way to the big screen.

Finnish video-game developer Rovio Entertainment said in a news release that it has picked Sony Pictures Imageworks's Vancouver studio to be the primary animation house for the upcoming "Angry Birds" movie.

Rovio CEO Mikael Hed said he searched the world for the best animation facility, and he felt Sony Pictures Imageworks fit the bill.

"It was very important for Rovio to find the perfect partner -- in style, talent and location -- to bring the 'Angry Birds' movie to life, and Sony Pictures Imageworks in Vancouver made that decision easy," he said in the news release.

The game has become a worldwide hit with multiple versions, in which players use a slingshot to launch colourful but irate birds toward green pigs.

Sony Pictures Imageworks declined an interview.

Randy Lake, executive vice president and general manager of digital production services, said in an email that the opportunity means the company will be hiring the most artists it has ever had to work on an animated feature in Vancouver.

The "Angry Birds" movie is slated to be released in July 2016.

The film's move to Vancouver was announced in a B.C. government news release, with the province taking credit for helping to bring the two companies together.