Disney recently announced that they have made a pitch deal to adapt Mike Raicht and Brian Smith’s graphic novel Stuff of Legend. Pete Candeland (Balto) would direct the film and Shawn Christensen (Abduction) would write the script.  Jake Wagner will executive produce.

This would be the second recent Disney project for Candeland, who is best known for his work with animation and for creating and directing music videos for The Gorillaz, according to Deadline.com. Candeland also worked with Paul McCartney to create the cinematic opening for The Beatles Rock Band for Harmonix.

Stuff of Legend, illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson III, is set in 1944. It tells the story of a boy who is abducted by the Boogeyman and taken to a closet realm known as The Dark. The boy’s puppy organizes a group of toys to embark on a rescue mission. Once in the closet, each of the toys morphs into a more powerful creature and together they wage war on the Boogeyman’s forces.

The intention, according to Deadline, is to make a live-action film set in a CGI world, like Alice in Wonderland.

Publishers Weekly had great things to say about the graphic novel series, stating:

The plot takes some dark turns, and there is a sometimes ugly psychological tension even between allies. The taut, suspenseful story will engross older readers, however. Wilson’s lovely sepia artwork infuses the book with an ominous feel and brings the complex emotions of the living toys to the fore. The volume gathers issues one and two of The Stuff of Legend comic, published by Th3rd World Studio, along with character sketches, a new story revolving around the soldier’s war journal, and character sketches.

There is no word yet on who is expected to star in the adaptation or a projected release date for the project.