Ask most people what image comes to mind when they hear the name “Tinkerbell” and chances are they will picture the blonde, mute pixie from Disney’s 1953 ‘Peter Pan’ (OK, for some of us, maybe we think of Julia Roberts in ‘Hook’). Well Disney is giving us a new spin on the classic J.M. Barrie character. This time it’s a live-action film called ‘Tink’ starring Elizabeth Banks (currently stuck in North Korea as Avery Jessup on ’30 Rock’).

The blonde actress told Moviehole:

“It’s a live action Tinkerbell movie sort of in the vein of Elf in which I would play Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell gets thrown out of Never Never Land, and it’s about where she goes and who she meets and the adventures she has….Tinkerbell is one of the greatest characters because she’s mischievous and snarky and fun and sexy and jealous and vengeful.”

The animated Tinkerbell has long been a symbol of Disney. In addition to a couple of direct-to-DVD movies, Tink has appeared in numerous commercials and loads of Disneyland merchandise over the years.

The ‘Elf’ comparison is bound to make some people happy. Although the film is still in “script stage,” producers and a writer are attached in addition to Banks. Somewhat surprisingly, Marti Noxon, of ‘Fright Night’ fame, is writing while McG (‘Terminator: Salvation’) is set to join Banks and Adam Shankman as a producer.

If things go well, we should expect a 2013 release, which may keep ‘Tink’ from competing with this year’s slew of live-action fairy-tale adaptations. 2012 will see a couple of Snow White movies and an actiony take on Hansel and Gretel. And that’s not even counting ABC’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ series hitting the homestretch of its first season on the air.

Banks herself has a number of films lined up for 2012, in addition to a possible return to ’30 Rock.’ She will play Effie Trinket in ‘Hunger Games’ which is building up some great buzz.

Happy to see a fresh take on the classic fairy? Let us know!