The film version of Ricky Gervais' Flanimals books is to be made.

Faber and Faber, the company that publishes the books have said that they have signed an agreement to make a film with Illumination Films. It is to be produced by Chris Meledandri, who was also responsible for The Simpsons Movie and Ice Age. The company also announced that it has now sold over a million Flanimals books.

Gervais said that: "I'm very excited about Flanimals The Movie because I'll probably be the part of Puddloflag. It will be weird to hear my voice coming out of a short, fat, purple, sweaty creature."

Gervais has had plans to make a Flanimals film for some time. In 2004, he was poised to make an $80 million film about his creations but nothing came of it.

In 2006, ITV announced that it was to make six half-hour episodes based on the books. It is not known if the project will be affected by the film. The official website of the TV series is www.flanimals.com

There's currently 60% off Flanimals books at Amazon.co.uk