Tim Minchin - not a performer known to play safe - has signed on for what may be his most ambitious project yet.

The 38-year-old English-born and Perth-raised Minchin will be directing an animated musical comedy set in the Australian outback for Dreamworks.

In the picture: Tim Minchin is to direct an animated Australian musical comedy. Credit:Angela Wylie

A big fan of old-style Disney animated musicals - ''films like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, I love them'' - Minchin was bemoaning the fact no one was making that sort of thing any more over coffee with Will Davies, one of the writers of How To Train Your Dragon.

''And he said, 'Well you should just get Dreamworks to do a deal with you','' Minchin said. ''I had no idea what that meant at the time - now I know the studios do deals all the time, give you a bit of money to keep you close.''