Robert Zemeckis is in negotiations to direct a remake of the 1968 animated Beatles feature Yellow Submarine for the Walt Disney Studios.

Disney had no comment on the deal. Still being sorted out is the acquisition of rights to the film's music, which includes the title track as well as Eleanor Rigby, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, When I'm Sixty-Four and With a Little Help From My Friends.

Like all Zemeckis' animated productions -- among them The Polar Express and Beowulf -- Submarine would be done in performance capture and would be a digital 3D endeavor.

The original movie, produced by United Artists and King Features Syndicate, was a hit. Its story involves a soldier called Old Fred who meets up with the Beatles and travels in a yellow submersible to Pepperland. Among the creatures the group encounters are the music-hating Blue Meanies.