Disney has paid mid-six figures to pick up the rights to the children's book "Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella" penned by Susan Lowell, to be developed as a musical feature for the studio, reports Variety.
Ross Venokur will pen screenplay, provisionally titled "Once Upon a Prairie."
"Prairie" is a Western twist on the classic Cinderella tale about a young tomboy who wants to be a rodeo star.
When a ranching accident claims her father's life, Cinda's stepmother puts the family in financial jeopardy by selling off everything to pay for clothes and jewels for her and her own daughters.
In order to pay off the debt and win the ranch back, Cinda decides to enter the rodeo disguised as a boy. Whilst in disguise, she meets the son of a rich family who asks her for rodeo lessons, and the pair end up falling in love.