Hollywood producers are planning to turn Knut the polar bear’s life into an animated movie – and are eyeing up Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' daughter Suri to voice the one-year-old resident of Berlin zoo.

Knut - who was rejected by his mother at birth – found fame when photographer Annie Leibovitz snapped him for the cover of Vanity Fair, and a children's book (Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World) turned him into a kids favourite.

According to German newspaper B.Z., producer Ash R. Shah and his firm, The Animation Picture Company, offered the Berlin Zoo $5 million for the rights to Knut's story.

Shah told the paper: "With his friendly character, he's serves as an ambassador for the Earth's problems – climate change and the melting polar ice caps.

"A movie about Knut would affect people all over the world"

Katie Holmes visited Knut with 14-month-old daughter Suri last year and Shah is now keen for his famous visitor to star as the cute bear.

Shah added: "I see the heartwarming relationship between Knut and his caretaker, Thomas Doerflein at the center of the movie...Suri [Cruise] could speak the English voice of Knut."

However, zoo curator Heiner Klös is cautious about the offer due to the press involved.

He told People: "I can confirm that we received the offer and that we are giving it due consideration," he said. "When we have come to a decision, then we will handle the matter discreetly."

Suri is yet to officially respond to the news.