The Angry Birds Movie Page 5

  “I do!” said Matilda. She was itching to get at the pigs for tricking her and her friends.

  “Great!” said Red. “We’re going to shoot you from this thing. It’s going to be really fast and probably a little scary, but—”

  “Shoot it!” said Matilda, interrupting Red.

  Red smiled and nodded at Terence.

  “Okeydoke. Fire!”

  Matilda rocketed through the air and surprised everyone by releasing fireballs . . . out of her butt! She aimed directly for the pigs’ houses. Soon a whole section of the city was on fire, and pigs ran in every direction.

  “Take that!” she yelled. “Boom, baby, boom!”

  “Wow,” said Red. “I didn’t know she could do that.”

  “Yeah, and from her butt, too,” added Chuck.

  Matilda landed short of the castle, so Red had another bird shot over. When that bird didn’t reach the target, more birds volunteered to be slung over. None of them reached the castle. But they did their best to cause as much damage to the city as they could. The birds landed all over the city, destroying the pigs’ creaky wooden structures.

  Slowly the pigs noticed the Angry Birds flying toward them and crashing into their homes and stores. It finally dawned on the pigs that they were under attack! They began to panic and ran screaming from their buildings. Pigs crashed into one another on the streets. Some ran toward the castle. In just a few seconds, Pig City had erupted into utter chaos!

  Back on the hill, Red was frustrated. The slingshot was not getting any of the birds close to the castle. Then Red heard a very familiar, very slimy voice, and he went from frustrated to furious.

  “Citizens of Piggy Island, the birds are attacking our home!” proclaimed Leonard. His voice echoed from speakers placed throughout the city. All the pigs heard him, but so did the birds!

  “Do what you must to stop them! On a separate note, I will now eat the eggs for lunch instead of dinner as originally planned! So if you received a dinner invitation, come quickly!” he said.

  Red realized that they needed an alternate plan, and fast. He spotted Terence and ran toward him.

  “Terence! I’ve got an idea! It’s risky, so I’m going to do it myself. See that giant boulder near Leonard’s castle? Launch me right toward the top of that thing.”

  Terence grunted in agreement as Red positioned himself inside the slingshot. Red soared through the air. He curled himself into a ball, bounced off the boulder, and launched himself right at the castle! With a loud crash, Red broke through the roof. He had done it!

  “I’m in!” Red shouted to Chuck and Bomb. “Send everyone else on over!”

  Terence grabbed Chuck and launched him in the same direction as Red. Chuck went soaring through the air. He ramped into super-speed and hit the castle so hard he broke through the walls and some doors before landing hard next to Red.

  As Chuck slowly got up, Red could see that he had a black eye, a twisted wing, and some singed feathers. Chuck shook his head and tried to clear his vision.

  “Bomb is on his way,” said Chuck.

  Just as Chuck finished his sentence, Bomb came soaring toward them and landed with an enormous thud.

  “All right,” said Red. “Let’s do this! Let’s find those eggs!”

  Leonard had had enough. How dare those birds come and take his precious eggs. They were ruining his home, too. The nerve! He had to eat the eggs before the birds could get them back—and quickly!

  “Call in the Piggy Air Force,” Leonard ordered. He addressed his fellow pigs through the citywide speakers. “My friends! The treacherous birds have repaid our friendship with an unprovoked act of aggression. Their attack will fail. We have TNT!”

  Seconds later, a hangar door in a nearby cave opened, and several oddly shaped planes and aircraft rolled out and took to the air. Like everything the pigs made, these machines looked sloppy and barely held together. The pigs loaded the planes with TNT and tried to drop it on the birds. Mostly they missed their targets and wound up destroying their own homes and buildings! But they dropped enough TNT to make the birds retreat. The birds raced out of Pig City and scrambled back up the hill to safety.

  “The birds did not figure on the courage of the pigs!” Leonard finished, then turned to Ross. “Ross!” he shouted. “Prepare the feast!”

  Ross shouted instructions to the pig chef as Leonard took his seat and smiled. He sat at the head of a long banquet table with several prominent city pigs who had rushed to the castle after hearing his message. They all picked up their knives and forks and banged them on the table.

  “We want eggs! We want eggs! We want eggs!” they shouted in unison.

  Leonard’s lips curled into an evil smile.

  “Soon, my friends. Very, very soon . . .”

  Back on the hill overlooking Pig City, Terence positioned himself in front of the slingshot. He stretched the band as far as it could go, determined to give himself enough power to reach Leonard’s house and help his friends. However, just as he prepared to launch himself into the air, the band snapped and the slingshot broke! Terence looked down and grunted in anger. How was he going to help his friends now?!

  Meanwhile, down in Pig City, Matilda was shooting fireballs at all the pigs that she encountered. Some of the piggy guards tried to catch her. But she was too fast.

  “Pop, piggies, pop!” she shouted as she went into different yoga poses and unleashed more fireballs. “Eggs-plosive!”

  As the pigs scattered, Matilda beamed. Maybe it was better to be a little angry after all. She’d spent so much time squelching her angry feelings that she forgot how good it felt to let loose!

  In the castle, Red, Chuck, and Bomb rounded a corner and realized they had found what they were looking for. Straight ahead was a large door with a sign on it that read NO EGGS IN HERE. There were five pigs guarding the door, too. The trio knew better by now—the pigs were not smart enough to keep the eggs truly hidden. Red quickly came up with a plan.

  “Bomb, you can handle two of ’em. Chuck, I don’t know if you can help. We’ve got to figure out a way to get into that roo—”

  Before Red could finish his sentence, Chuck went into super-speed, grabbed a bucket of paint, and put it on one of the guards’ heads. He took more paint and wrote I STINK! on another guard’s chest, then put paint buckets on the other guards’ hooves. He moved so fast that he was already back standing next to Red and Bomb as Red finished his sentence!

  “—m. Does anyone have any ideas?”

  At the same moment, the pig with the paint bucket on his head fell down, the one Chuck had painted on hit another pig, and the other pigs saw the paint buckets on their hooves and chased one another down the hall. The egg room was now completely unguarded!

  “Wait, what the heck just happened?!” cried Red.

  Chuck looked pleased with himself. “You were saying?”

  The three birds ran into the room, only to see that the eggs were in a net that was being carried away on a large rope. Thinking fast, Red leaped up and grabbed onto the net as the eggs were being pulled through a large hole in the wall. Chuck and Bomb ran after him, trying to catch up as the eggs traveled through Leonard’s castle.

  “Hey, eggs, listen up,” said Red, in an effort to reassure both himself and the eggs. “I’m here. Everything’s going to be okay. We’re going to get you out of here.”

  Before he could do anything more, Red found himself suspended above a giant caldron in Leonard’s banquet hall. As he held on to the eggs for dear life, he saw Leonard and all the pigs seated at a large table below.

  “What is this?” asked Red, confused as to what was going on.

  “What is he doing up there?” shouted Leonard angrily.

  Red realized that the pigs were going to boil the eggs and eat them, so he rushed to free them. When Leonard figured out what Red was doing, he shouted at the pig cook.

  “Fine, boil him, too!”

  Just as the eggs began to lower into the caldron full o
f boiling water, Red saw something large outside the window. . . .

  It was Mighty Eagle!

  “Hello, Red,” said Mighty Eagle. “Don’t worry, I got this!” With a loud cry of “MIGH-TY EA-GLE,” the large bird crashed through the banquet hall windows and onto the table. But Mighty Eagle was flying too fast and kept going. He slid all the way down the table and hit his head against the caldron with a loud BONK! He was knocked out cold!

  Red dropped onto the table next to Mighty Eagle and tried to wake him. “Mighty Eagle! Mighty Eagle, c’mon, wake up! Oof,” he said, catching a whiff of Mighty Eagle’s breath. “That’s bad breath! Yuck!”

  Leonard stomped toward the birds. He was fed up and determined to eat the eggs without further interruption.

  “Throw them both into the pot for seasoning!” he shouted.

  Red slapped Mighty Eagle across the face a few times to get him to wake up. “C’mon, Mighty Eagle! Wake up! Wake up!”

  “Don’t even try,” said Leonard. “You’re all finished!”

  “Not so fast!” shouted a voice from across the hall. It was Bomb! He and Chuck had finally caught up with Red and the eggs! At that moment, Mighty Eagle woke up, and Red knew his hero would save the day.

  “Mighty Eagle! I need you to fly the eggs to safety,” he pleaded.

  “No worries,” said Mighty Eagle. “I’ve got this!”

  With a giant push off the table, he grabbed the net of eggs and started to make his way out of the banquet hall and into the open sky.

  “My eggs!” screamed Leonard.

  “Don’t forget Chuck and Bomb!” shouted Red. They were waiting by the open window.

  As Mighty Eagle flew past, Chuck and Bomb grabbed on to the net of eggs and were carried away. Red held on to the net as well. But Leonard pulled one of Red’s legs and wouldn’t let go.

  “You’re not going anywhere! You’ve ruined everything!” shouted Leonard.

  Red was being pulled in two directions. Mighty Eagle was straining to break free and fly away with the eggs and his friends. And Leonard kept tugging at Red’s leg. Then the net started to tear. A single blue egg fell down. It bounced back into the banquet hall and cracked when it hit the ground. Red knew he needed to let go in order to rescue the egg.

  “Save yourselves,” he told Mighty Eagle, Chuck, and Bomb. “I’m going to get that egg!”

  “Red, no!” shouted Chuck, but it was too late. Red was pulled back into the banquet hall. And Mighty Eagle took off toward safety.

  “Red . . . ,” whispered Chuck. He started to tear up as Leonard’s castle grew smaller and smaller in the distance. What was going to happen to Red, Chuck wondered. He didn’t want to think about it. It hurt too much.

  However, he had no time to worry, as Chuck saw the Piggy Air Force behind them. More and more planes were coming out of the hangar and down the ramp. Unless the hangar was destroyed quickly, the birds would be outnumbered and defeated.

  “I’ve gotta blow up that ramp,” said Bomb.

  “No!” shouted Chuck. “It’s too dangerous!”

  “But I need to stop those planes!” Bomb argued, then jumped onto the nearest plane, and bounced from one to the other until he reached the ramp leading into the hangar.

  “Come on, Bomb, you can do this,” he said to himself. “Blow up! Blow up! Think explosive thoughts!”

  As a massive piggy plane started descending the ramp right toward Bomb, the black bird realized it was now or never. He thought of surprise parties and yoga poses and, finally, of the dozens of pigs in their planes. Suddenly, a loud BOOM shook the hangar as Bomb exploded.

  “I blew up!” Bomb shouted as he made his way back to the hill where the birds were gathered. “On purpose! Yes! I am awesome!”

  Back in the banquet hall, Leonard saw the cracked blue egg lying on the floor.

  “Well, look at this,” he said triumphantly. “I’ll take that!”

  “Give me that!” shouted Red as he lunged for the egg.

  Both Leonard and Red missed, but Ross picked it up and prepared to toss it into the caldron.

  Before Ross could throw the egg into the caldron, Red grabbed it out of Ross’s hooves and held it close to him. He looked for a way to escape, then realized he was surrounded by pigs. There was no way out.

  “You just don’t know when to stop, do you?” asked Ross angrily. “Guards! Seize him!”

  Red struggled to get away from the guards. They knocked into the caldron of boiling water, tipping it over. A tidal wave of searing hot liquid flooded the banquet hall, and the pigs scattered for cover. Red jumped up and grabbed on to the chandelier above the table. Leonard jumped up right behind him and tried to snatch the egg from Red.

  “You’re wrecking my castle!” yelled Leonard. “What’s wrong with you?!”

  “You wrecked my house!” replied Red. “Now we’re even!”

  Suddenly, the chandelier came loose from the ceiling and crashed to the ground, Leonard and Red falling with it. They landed far below, making a hole in the floor. Red had the wind knocked out of him, and the egg slipped from his grasp.

  In another part of Pig City, Matilda and some of the other birds found themselves trapped by a giant wooden tank. It was headed straight toward them. Then the window rolled down, and Terence popped his head out. He had found a way to get to the city and save his fellow birds!

  Matilda smiled and waved at Terence. “Way to go, big boy! Come on, everyone, let’s go!”

  Matilda and the birds climbed into the tank, and Terence steered them back toward the hill overlooking the city.

  “I got it,” Leonard said as he snatched the egg up from the ground next to Red. “Delicious bird’s egg!” He started to heat it up with a candle from the chandelier.

  “You can’t eat eggs!” said Red. He looked for something to use as a weapon. He saw that the room was full of TNT, and he suddenly got an idea.

  “What are you going to do?” asked Leonard. “I’m a foodie!”

  “Well, I guess you win,” said Red.

  “What?” asked Leonard.

  “That was an awesome plan, to steal the eggs. We never saw it coming.”

  “I know!” agreed Leonard. “Who would do something like that? I mean, I would, actually!”

  “True! But hey—what’s that over there?” asked Red, pointing behind Leonard.

  When the pig turned to look at what Red was pointing to, Red grabbed a crate of TNT. He threw it at Leonard, who dropped the egg. Red caught it just as the crate hit the big pig. Suddenly the candle Leonard was holding ignited the dynamite inside.

  “Uh-oh!” said Leonard as all around them, crates of TNT began to explode.

  Back on the hillside overlooking Pig City, the birds watched and waited for signs of Red and his friends. They gasped in surprise as they saw Mighty Eagle flying toward them, the net of eggs held securely in his talons. The birds cried and cheered as Mighty Eagle landed. Chuck, Bomb, and Terence began handing out the eggs to the birds they belonged to. Soon every set of bird parents was reunited with their eggs. All except for two birds named Olive and Greg, who were the parents of the blue egg that had been left behind—the one Red had fought so hard to save.

  Before Chuck and Bomb could explain what had happened, there was a giant explosion behind them. They all turned to watch just as the castle went up in flames.

  “Red!” shouted Chuck and Bomb together. They ran to the edge of the hill, desperate to see a glimpse of their friend.

  “Where is he?” asked Chuck.

  “C’mon, buddy, where are you?” whispered Bomb.

  Even Mighty Eagle was worried that something had happened to Red. After several very long minutes, the birds began to give up hope that their friend had made it out safely with the last egg. Bomb and Chuck would not budge from their spot. The idea that Red was gone was just too painful to bear.

  All of a sudden, they spotted something moving in the castle ruins. Could it be Red? After a few seconds more, Red emerged from the
rubble, the blue egg held safely in his wings. His feathers were rough and ruffled, but he was alive!

  “He’s alive!” shouted Chuck. “He’s alive!”

  The birds cheered and shouted as Red made his way up the hilltop. He gave the blue egg back to Olive and Greg, just as it cracked open to reveal three baby blue birds inside! The proud parents hugged their chicks close, and Red couldn’t help but smile. He had done it. He had saved all the eggs!

  Just like he’d promised.

  “You made it!” shouted Chuck as he jumped up and down for joy. “Come here, pal!”

  Bomb grabbed Red and pulled him into a hug. “I’m so happy to see you, buddy!”

  Chuck put his wings around Red and Bomb as Red gave his friends a big squeeze.

  “It’s good to see you guys,” said Red, and for the first time, he genuinely meant it.

  Mighty Eagle approached the trio. He looked happy and relieved. “You learned your lesson well.” He pulled the three birds into a big and awkward hug. “You’re my prized pupils,” he said proudly.

  “Your prized what?” asked Red as Mighty Eagle released them from his grip.

  “Don’t you see?” Mighty Eagle said. “I had to make you lose faith in me so you could learn to have faith in yourselves!”

  “That’s really not how it felt,” said Chuck.

  “Yeah,” agreed Red. “I don’t think that’s what happened. . . .”

  “Oh look, you’re blushing!” said Mighty Eagle, pointing to Red.

  “I’m not blushing,” said Red. “I’m just . . . red!”

  In the following days, the birds rebuilt Bird Village, complete with a new and even bigger statue of Mighty Eagle in the center of the village. The statue honored Mighty Eagle’s latest act of heroism, when he saved all the eggs. (Even though it was really Red who had saved the day.) After it was unveiled, Red, Chuck, and Bomb stared up at it.