It could be the biggest thing in Hollywood since 1994's Thumbelina. Tom Thumb is to be the subject of a new film from Kevin Lima, the director of the fairytale-themed Enchanted.

The feature will be shot in live action, although Tom himself may be depicted in CGI, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Lima's version will centre on a knight who must show his heroism after being reduced to a minute size. Saving Private Ryan writer Robert Rodat has written the screenplay.

The Tom Thumb of legend is one of Britain's most well-known fairy tales, with stories stretching back to the 1500s. Perhaps the best-known version is Henry Fielding's The Tragedy of Tragedies, or the History of Tom Thumb the Great, printed as The Author's Farce in 1731.

In the most famous retellings, Tom is born to a previously childless couple who give food and shelter to a wandering old man. The aged gentleman turns out to be Merlin, and hearing that his hosts would be happy with a child "even if he were no bigger than a thumb" he grants them their wish.

Tom does eventually end up at King Arthur's court, and is made an honorary member of the famous round table, making him a knight. But it sounds like Rodat's take is somewhat different in nature.

It's been a while since Tom hit the big screen, his last outing being the 1958 musical version, although there was a stop-motion BBC TV movie in 1993.

Lima is clearly seen as a safe pair of hands for the project after the success of Enchanted, the story of a fairytale princess transported to the real world, which made $127m in the US alone last year. He was also co-director on Disney's Tarzan in 1999, which took a massive $435m around the world.