Filmmaker Adam Rifkin has secured the film and TV rights to the popular candy treats Peeps for a new animated franchise, along with his producing partners Brent Tinter and Brian E. Rochlin.

The Bethlehem, Pennsylvania company Just Born, which makes and distributes the chick and bunny-shaped candies, sparked to Adam Rifkin's idea for a family epic in the same vein as the recent blockbuster The Lego Movie. The story is set the night before a Peeps diorama contest, where one Peep goes astray, and must venture through a number of different adventure-themed dioramas before the contest judging begins.

Adam Rifkin got the idea from watching his niece and nephew make their own Peeps diorama for a school project. He soon discovered that there are several, large-scale Peeps contests, such as one held by The Washington Post where this year's winner depicted Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

Adam Rifkin will begin work on the script as soon as the producers finish locking in certain story points. The hope is to partner with a studio and this existing brand, in the same way Warner Bros. teamed up with Lego and DC Comics for the characters in The Lego Movie.

Adam Rifkin's writing credits include Mouse Hunt, Small Soldiers, Zoom and Underdog. He also wrote and directed features The Chase, Detroit Rock City and Look, along with the upcoming Reality Show: The Film, based on his Showtime series Reality Show.

Just Born sells $2 billion worth of Peeps per year, and the company has started to branch out into merchandising in recent years.