This picture taken on October 17, 2014 shows a 51-year-old mother Kazumi Kaminaga smiling with a large Hello Kitty doll at a Sanrio shop in Tokyo. The now middle-aged Kitty is licensed to appear on everything from sundries and clothing to electronics and aircraft -- sex toys are a myth -- in 130 countries and territories. First released in 1974 and appearing on a coin purse the following year, Kitty is far from just kids stuff these days. Its creator Sanrio says Kittymania is actually led by adults like Kaminaga. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)" data-credit="AFP/Getty Images" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/3800x2013+0+0/resize/660x350!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/8ef50845b401a719eda7df13248b6565/202232740/458015016.jpg" data-mep="873277" />Hello Kitty, that adorable little cat with the jaunty red bow, is coming to the big screen: Deadline reports that the Japanese icon is getting her own movie.

According to the trade, Sanrio, the company that owns the rights to the character, is funding and producing the movie itself. And the company is apparently pulling out all the stops for the flick: Its staggering budget is slated fit into a range between $160 and $240 million. That's a lot of dough for a little cat, but then again, the insanely popular brand is a global phenomenon -- the movie should easily make up that money in merchandise sales alone.

It's unclear at this point just what medium Sanrio will choose for Hello Kitty's big screen debut, though it's a safe bet that it will be animated (2D or 3D is also unknown for now). A possible plot has yet to be revealed, but we're guessing that the titular feline will say "Hello" quite a bit.

Deadline reports that Sanrio is planning similar films for its other properties, including My Melody and Little Twin Stars. No word yet on when those projects are expected in theaters.

The Hello Kitty movie is currently scheduled for release sometime in 2019.

[via: Deadline]

Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images