Angry Birds movie taps 'The Simpsons,' 'King of the Hill' writer Jon Vitti

The screenplay for the Angry Birds animated movie will be penned by Emmy Award-winning comedy writer Jon Vitti, whose credits include The Simpsons, The Larry Sanders Show and King of the Hill, publisher Rovio announced today.

Vitti, who also has screenwriting credits for The Simpsons Movie and the 3D-animated Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, served as writer, story editor and producer on early seasons of The Simpsons. Some of his most recent writing credits are for the U.S. version of The Office.

In addition to Vitti's role on Angry Birds, Rovio announced the addition of Star Wars: The Clone Wars executive producer Catherine Winder to the crew. Winder, who has worked with both traditional and computer-generated animation, will serve as a producer on the film.

Rovio's Angry Birds movie is planned for release on July 1, 2016, distributed through Sony Pictures.