Robert Townsend is closing the deal to direct the family adventure film Lil Homiez, written by Dallas Jackson and Townsend, and based on a short film by Jackson.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is a hip-hop version of "The Little Rascals meets The Rugrats," and recounts the adventures of five multiethnic kids as they try to save their neighborhood from being taken over by an evil land developer. The Goonies anyone?

No word on when production is set to begin.