This may be a Disney film, but it ain’t no Fantasia.

Last week, Nicolas Cage began working on his latest crazy-haired role in New York. In The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Cage will play Balthazar Blake, a sorcerer who takes on Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder) as his apprentice. Blake’s mission is to train the reluctant recruit in the science of magic so that he can battle dark forces in Manhattan.

If the movie’s title sounds familiar to you, it should. Mickey Mouse played the apprentice in a segment of the 1940 animated classic. (The tale itself is based on a English poem by Goethe.)

The live action version - which is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) - is scheduled for a July 2010 release.