Nickelodeon Movies has acquired the feature film rights to Jeff Smith’s comic book, “Bone” for an unspecified amount of money in the “high six-figure” range. The property is being developed as an animated feature film to be directed by Smith. Albie Hecht, president of film and television entertainment at Nickelodeon said, “‘Bone’ is a comic fantasy adventure in the tradition of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Lord of the Rings.’” The story is about three lost cousins who become stranded in an uncharted land filled with rat creatures and beetle-like dragons. Nickelodeon expects this film to appeal to a wider and older audience than its upcoming animated feature “The Rugrats Movie,” because it extends to the property’s existing fan base. To date, 90,000 English-language copies of “Bone” have been sold since it was first published in 1991. Nickelodeon Movies also recently acquired the feature film, ancillary and television rights to the works and life of cartoonist Rube Goldberg, but at this point no plans for animated projects based on the property have been announced.