Heathcliff, the sarcastic orange feline created by George Gately, is about to get a second chance at animation thanks to a partnership between animation studio Magic Lantern Entertainment and rights holder FitzRoy Media, and this time he just might end up on the big screen.  Gately’s irascible housecat, who debuted in the comic pages in 1973 and whose newspaper adventures are now drawn by Gately’s nephew, Peter Gallagher, had a first fling with animation in the early 1980s, when he starred in two different animated TV series.

According to Variety, the first new Heathcliff project is a direct-to-DVD animated project that will be released by Universal in 2011, though it could be expanded into a theatrical feature if it looks promising enough.

Variety also reports that Magic Lantern is interested in potentially creating a live action/CGI hybrid in the style of Alvin and the Chipmunks to take full advantage of the snarky tabby’s sarcastic humor.

In addition to his continuing career in the newspapers, Heathcliff was also featured in a comic book series published by Marvel under its kid-friendly Star imprint that ran for 56 issues starting in 1985.