US pop singer Madonna (file photo)

    LOS ANGELES, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- US pop singer Madonna will head the voice cast of computer-animated movie "Arthur," based on a series of children's books written by French filmmaker Luc Besson, the Hollywood Reporter reported Friday.

    The 80-million-dollar English-language project, directed by Besson himself, is scheduled for a 2006 release, the Hollywood entertainment magazine reported.

    The movie follows 10-year-old Arthur who, in a bid to save his grandfather's house from developers, goes in search of treasure hidden in the land of the Minimoys, a tiny people living in harmony with nature.

    Madonna is to be voicing the part of Princess Selenia, a character who travels with Arthur to a mysterious forbidden city where an evil being dwells, the report said.

    "The recording is being done at the moment," a production source said.

    Besson's Europa production banner also is in the process of casting a major male star. The film will include some live-action sequences.

    "Arthur" will be the first film directed by Besson since "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" five years ago. Besson also is working on a parallel live-action project, which he has writtenbut which remains a closely guarded secret, the report said. Enditem

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