The sequel to the Akshay-Lara animation film is in the pipeline

Remember Percept Picture Company's Jumbo -- the animation film about an elephant with voiceovers by Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta? It released in December 2008 and didn't really light up the box-office.

But despite the lukewarm response, the production house is going ahead with a sequel.

Confirming this, a source close to Percept says, "Yes Jumbo 2 is very much in the works and we plan to release it this Diwali. Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta are in talks and everything is being worked out.

There will be new characters and actors on board for the sequel. The animation too will be better, with a lot of special effects."

Kumar, who is close to Percept head Shailendra Singh, had done the first film as a token of his love for children. Jumbo also featured actors Dimple Kapadia, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav and Gulshan Grover.

The source adds that Percept is keeping everything under wraps before making an official announcement.

"They are trying to figure out areas in which the first film failed, and altering the script to make it tighter.

Animation experts are also being approached to make the sequel more viewer-friendly, " added the source.