Comedy genius and creator of The Office Ricky Gervais will produce an animated film adaptation of his book Flanimals.

Primarily a children's book but with a certain strange appeal to adults, Flanimals features a range of creatures concocted by Gervais' imagination.

Gervais will act as executive producer for the venture and will provide voice-overs for one of the main characters.

The project will be under the wing of 20th Century Fox in an effort to better their animation rivals Pixar.