Earlier this year, Angry Birds maker Rovio announced plans for a new spin-off: Angry Birds Stella. It made its debut as a game in early September, with plans for a cartoon series to follow. That debut is set for 1 November. Or at least, it was…

Today, Rovio announced that the first episode of Angry Birds Stella is going live a little sooner than expected: today! But to watch it, children will have to go to one specific place: the Angry Birds Stella game.

“If you check the ToonsTV channel inside the game, there’s a surprise waiting for you,” explained Rovio in a blog post today. “Start the game, click the ToonsTV button and dive into the adventures of Stella and her friends in Golden Island.”

It’s a nice surprise for young fans of Stella and friends, who have been seen as a version of Angry Birds aimed more at girls and women, although Rovio maintains it doesn’t want to restrict them in that way.

“Just as I hope people don’t think Star Wars is for boys, I hope they don’t say this is just for girls. We want to challenge stereotypes, both on girls – that they only play easy games – and on boys, that they don’t like anything pink,” said Rovio’s Blanca Juti in September, when the game came out.

The first episode – A Fork in the Friendship – acts as an introduction to Stella and her friends (and foes) although I won’t give the plot of the five-minute toon away.

Here’s the teaser for the series as a whole:

Anyway, if your children want to get first dibs on watching the full cartoon, Angry Birds Stella is a free download for iPhone and iPad, and a free download for Android.