'Wall and Wing' headed for big screen

LOS ANGELES, March 14 (UPI) -- Plans are under way in Hollywood for an animated movie version of the children's novel "The Wall and the Wing," Daily Variety said Monday.

Vinton Studios has acquired the rights to Laura Ruby's HarperCollins novel about a girl who can make herself invisible. The story is set in a stylized version of Manhattan where most people can fly, and those who can't are reviled as "leadfoots."

Ruby has been compared with the late author Roald Dahl. "The Wall and the Wing" is scheduled to be published in 2006.

Variety said Henry Selick ("The Nightmare Before Christmas") is attached to direct the computer-generated feature. Selick has also directed a movie adaptation of a Dahl book, "James and the Giant Peach."

"The Wall and the Wing" is the latest animated feature project Vinton has put together since it was acquired by Nike founder Phil Knight in 2003. Vinton is also planning an animated feature version of Dahl's "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" for Revolution.