Luc Besson film gets game tie-in

Atari has picked up the rights to produce a videogame based on Arthur and the Minimoys, a new animated feature film from renowned director Luc Besson.

It's based on his own books, which have sold more than 950,000 copies in France alone, and is said to have the highest budget ever for a European animated film at $85 million. Voices and music for the film will be supplied by the likes of Madonna, Snoop Dogg and David Bowie.

The game will follow the adventures of young hero Arthur and his chums, Selenia and Bétamèche, as they fight to save the Minimoys' world from destruction. The Minimoys, you see, are weird little creatures who stand just a couple of millimetres tall. You'll need to make the three characters work together to solve mysteries and overcome obstacles, and all that sort of thing.

"When you make a children's film, your primary intent is to introduce kids to a new world that is both fantastic and exciting," said Besson.

"Atari's videogame will keep the film's adventure alive by allowing players to step into the characters' shoes to explore and try to save the world of the Minimoys."

Atari bigwig Bruno Bonnell added: "By working with the film crew from day one, not only have we stayed extremely faithful to the film, but we have also developed parallel adventures specifically for the game, which should be popular with the public."

Arthur and the Minimoys is due for a release alongside the film at the end of next year on PC, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS and GBA.