Red J. Bird is the main protagonist of the Angry Birds series. He is an desert cardinal native to Bird Island with a short-tempered and rude personality.
Born an orphan on Bird Island, Red was an anti-social bird with rarely any contact with anybody else. After Leonard's attacks on the island however, Red was accepted by the Bird Island society and has friends. He currently lives on Piggy Island with some of his closest friends and takes care of the eggs.
Appearance[]
Red is a desert cardinal bird with red feathers that cover most of his body, hence his name. On his head, he has two small red feathers with a circular end, and on his tail, there are two short black feathers with square ends. His belly is peach-colored, and he has small, crimson spots ordered in a horizontal line across his face. In the Wreck the Halls short in late 2011, he was slightly modified to have him with a more cartoonish look. This design was not used very often since then until Angry Birds Toons in 2013, and has become the most common design since then.
Originally, Red had a spherical body without showing any limbs at all. After the release of The Angry Birds Movie, he received an anthropomorphic, pill-shaped body with his head directly connected to his torso without a neck. His crest and tail feathers are also much longer and detailed than before. In addition, his irises were tinted brown. Future releases would occasionally switch between Red's new body and his old one.
In Angry Birds Dream Blast, Red was re-designed again to resemble a hatchling. In this game, he is much shorter, with a round body and small limbs. Angry Birds Journey uses a similar design for its trailers and promotional artwork, although it was somehow more simplified. In the levels of said game, he uses his design from Angry Birds Toons, though modified to have him with a small beak, large eyes, and brown irises.
Personality[]
Red is a short-tempered red bird, the angriest of all the birds, he is not above using violence when someone annoys him. He is someone who takes his duties very seriously, not willing at all to leave them aside. However, he also likes to discover new things when he is in a day off.
During his earliest years, Red was an antisocial person who was rejected by the other birds. With an unstable anger (despite him trying to state otherwise), he had always hated being disrespected and made fun of, as he took jokes very seriously. This would result in him getting enraged and/or sad. As he grew up, he also became someone who could get frustrated by anything, acting rude in front of other people not matter how friendly they were towards him. However, after he stopped Leonard from cooking the eggs from Bird Island, Red became much more outgoing and was approved by the rest of the birds, which allowed him to control his anger issues much more than before. Nevertheless, even after these incidents, it was shown that Red could still get angry at anything, sometimes cursing himself for his actions, and showing an open hatred for ridiculous holidays. He himself has admitted that he still suffered from anger issues from time to time. However, he is not ungrateful and appreciates the effort others make for him.
Red taking care of the eggs, from "Off Duty".
Since he moved to Piggy Island, Red has been very fond of the three eggs he sometime ago found there. As he believes that they will be very important for his species' survival, he takes good care of them and is not willing to leave them alone; once, he was shown spending entire seasons only looking after them. Whenever he is left alone with them, he softly strokes them and tells them bedtime stories, being one of the rare moments where he shows a soft side. Similarly, he spends hours in the morning cleaning and polishing his properties, specially the slingshot, and constantly checks that its band is perfectly elastic. However, he can easily lose his temper whenever something, such as an insect or a leaf, touches either the eggs or the slingshot. He also returns to his usual serious self when others come in.
Ever since the first time he met them, Red has had a mutual dislike for the pigs, being skeptical about them during their stay on Bird Island. After he and his friends moved to Piggy Island, his hatred for them was just aggravated. As a result of all the times they tried to steal the eggs, Red has become even more determined to keep them safe, which has bordered him on schizophrenia when he is not near them; a notable example of this was shown when, while he was having a forced vacation, Red started to have hallucinations where he saw all surrounding objects as eggs. A similar case was when he saw everything round as pigs, though this was due to his rage after he defeated a group of them. This also made him very paranoid, interpreting small things as a declaration of war, such as imagining the sound of the wind as a battle cry of the pigs. Despite his friends' best attempts of making him forget about them for a while, he never managed to take them out of his mind. He even is enraged by the smallest sight of green due to this.
While serious and hostile, Red likes being with other people, and appreciates their company. He is afraid of losing his friends and being ignored by others, just like in his childhood and adolescence, though he keeps this fact a secret to everyone. It has been confirmed that Red never managed to get rid of this trauma; a notable example of this was when Chuck asked him if he feared something. While Red said that he was not scared of anything, he had some flashbacks of him being left alone by others. Another example was when his friends were preparing him a surprise party for his birthday. Unaware of this, Red thought that his friends had died during an incident, or that they had abandoned him. However, when he realized that they were completely fine, he was so happy to see them that he shedded a tear. Despite him sometimes treating his friends badly, Red respects and trusts them, and is not above leaving aside his duties to visit them, such as when he wanted to go to Rio de Janeiro to visit Blu and Jewel.
Powers and abilities[]
Despite not having undergone any notable training, Red is a very skilled and powerful fighter, having been able to break though Pig City on his own many times with no wounds or scratches. His strength is one of his most notable abilities; though most of the time he cannot break stone blocks, Red is strong enough to pick up and launch pigs with ease, and has even been capable of breaking through many different walls and a metal wall within a few seconds with no additional equipment. In addition, his speed has let him run though entire mountains and onto water with no problem at all.
Red has demonstrated to have a great durability and resistance against attacks. He has been able to survive massive explosions and falls from high heights, and even withstood atmospheric entry once.
Strength and speed aside, Red is able to hide all his limbs to turn himself into a ball, though this ability has only been used once.
Super Red[]
By passing though an extraterrestrial wormhole of some kind, Red can transform into Super Red. In this state, Red has some different body features, the most notable of which is his black and white glasses, which he can use to track and analyze enemies. However, most of his abilities remain the same. This transformation first appeared in Angry Birds Space.
Mighty Feathers[]
By using a few of the Mighty Eagle's feathers, Red can have a, so far, unnamed transformation. He looks the same as his normal counterpart, except that he is now surrounded by a few white and red feathers. In this state, Red can head himself towards any location he wants to. However, he can only use this ability once before losing the feathers. This transformation only appeared in the original Angry Birds and its Chinese version.
Telebird[]
Through unknown means, Red can transform into the Telebird. In this state, he now wears a magenta and yellow helmet on his head. As the Telebird, Red now can teleport himself and surrounding objects to any place he wants to, allowing him to pass through solid objects. However, he can only use this ability once. This transformation only appeared in the international version of Angry Birds Seasons.
Homing Bird[]
By unknown means, Red can transform into the Homing Bird, where he wears a gray radar on his head. In this state, Red automatically heads himself towards any pig that is near him. However, he can only use this ability once. This transformation only appeared in Angry Birds Seasons and its Chinese version.
Pig[]
When Chef Pig made a potion to transform the birds into pigs, so that they bring the Eggs to them. Red was used as the test subject and it was a success, as he gave the Eggs to Chef Pig and was about to cook them. However, this potion was temporary as he was turning back into a bird. Chef Pig tried to make a new potion to make him a pig again, but Red blew the gas to him, which transformed him into a snail/tree/toy train/flower hybrid.
When he was transformed into a pig, he appeared to look like a Minion Pig but with Red's signature eyebrows.
Optimus Prime[]
When the EggSpark hit Piggy Island, Red transformed into Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobirds. He can shoot lasers towards Minion Pigs and hit structures. This transformation only appeared in Angry Birds Transformers.
Weaknesses[]
While not having any physical weaknesses, it is confirmed that Red is allergic to pollen. In addition, he can be scared quite easily by a scarecrow, and will be unable to do anything whenever he finds one. He can also be distracted whenever he is trying to aim with the slingshot, being scared by almost any sound, including his own farts.
Relationships[]
Bomb[]
Other of Red's friends is Bomb. The two first met when they were forced to assist Matilda's anger management classes. While they did not get along very well at first, they quickly became friends as they investigated about Leonard and the pigs' hostage on Bird Island. Red acts as a parental figure towards Bomb and respects and trusts him, though he can be annoyed by his stupidity.
Jay, Jake and Jim[]
Red is good friends with Jay, Jake and Jim. Before the Blues were born, Red saved the egg containing them from the claws of Leonard and his minions. Despite the brothers' irresponsibility and disobedience, Red still tolerates them and acts as a parental figure towards them. Also, whenever the triplets save the eggs from the pigs, Red likes spending a while playing with them as a reward.
Terence[]
| “ | And this is Terence!" "..." "More like 'Terrifying'. |
„ |
| ~ Matilda, Terence and Red, The Angry Birds Movie |
Terence is another ally of Red. They first met when they were forced by law to attend Matilda's anger management classes, though they did not get along at first, as Red feared Terence, even calling him "Terrifying" the first time he saw him. However, after Leonard stole the eggs from Bird Island, Terence and the other birds cooperated with Red to get them back. Since then, Terence and Red started to have a better relationship with each other, though they do not interact very often with each other.
Silver[]
| “ | So, I'm curious. Why didn't we just team up with Chuck? He is definitely faster than me." "No. he is too laid." "Why not Bomb then? You know, he is heavier than me." "Just no. You're perfect." "Oh. That's funny. I though we weren't... compatible. |
„ |
| ~ Red and Silver, The Angry Birds Movie 2 |
Silver is another of Red's friends. She was introduced to him by Chuck, though they had a rather tense relationship, as he was not too fond of her "know-it-all" behavior. As time passed however, they started to get along. Currently, they are good friends becoming a couple, and have a mutual respect towards each other.
Leonard[]
| “ | Look, Red, I know we've had our differences..." "Oh, like when you tried to eat our young?! |
„ |
| ~ Leonard and Red, The Angry Birds Movie 2 |
Perhaps Red's first enemy was Leonard. The two first met when Leonard and the other pigs went to Bird Island. Despite the pigs acting friendly towards the birds, Red was skeptical about Leonard, insulting him many times and even making paintings about him dying in multiple ways. It soon after turned out that Red was right about Leonard when he and the other pigs stole the eggs from Bird Island and bombed Bird Village. One day later, Red and the other birds managed to go to Piggy Island, the pigs' home, and destroy Pig City and rescue the eggs, which only aggravated Leonard's hatred for the red bird. Despite this, the two were forced to cooperate to stop Zeta from conquering the earth. However, in the secret meeting, they argue with each other about who should be the assistant.
King Pig[]
It is shown that Red hated King Smooth Cheeks much more than he hated Leonard. While it is unknown how the two first met, perhaps the earliest incident involving both the monarch and the bird was when the former decided to steal the birds' eggs to eat them. Despite having been defeated countless times, King Pig has never given up, and this, as well as him surviving his encounters with the Angry Birds, has made him a constant threat to the eggs and a thorn to Red's side.
Prince Porky[]
Red is in neutral terms with Prince Porky. The two first met when King Pig sent Porky and Wizpig to steal the birds' eggs. While both were initially enemies, they had to team up after Wizpig betrayed the pigs and stole King Pig's crown and an egg. Later, at the Hog Head Mountain, Porky cooperated with the Red and his comrades to defeat Wizpig, who had just turned into Demonic Wizpig. Following that battle, Porky shared a time with the Angry Birds. The current state of Red's relationship with Porky remains unknown.
Trivia[]
- An officially licensed t-shirt entitled “Nerdy Birdy” showed Red with glasses and a bow tie. The image was so popular that a plush version was created. It should be noted that the Nerdy Birdy is not a new character, just Red wearing a bow tie and eyeglasses.
- Red and Silver are the only birds to be named after a color.
- Red in the games is one of the more younger characters in the franchise, as in Toons he is almost the same height at them.
- As of 2016, Red is the official United Nations (UN) Ambassador of Climate Change.
- Red has been featured in 2 ads for one of Rovio's games called "Small Town Murders", where one his body frame is seen through a brick wall with feathers in the air and the other is a chalk sketch of his body with feathers and yellow cartridges scattered on the ground.
Gallery[]
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