CHATSWORTH, California: It was a chilly day in this Los Angeles suburb, not the greatest weather for digging a hole, but Lucas Cruikshank had a movie to make. So he gamely picked up a shovel, stepped in front of the camera and broke into the caterwaul that has become catnip to millions of YouTube viewers.

Cruikshank, a 16-year-old from rural Nebraska, created the character — a tantrum-throwing six-year-old named Fred Figglehorn whose voice is sped up to “chipmunk” levels— about four years ago. Since then, Fred has become a web phenomenon, with some of Cruikshank’s YouTube vid­eos generating more than 10 million hits. Overall his channel, youtube.com/us­er/ Fred, has logged nearly 70 million views since 2005.

But can Fred carry a feature film? Hollywood in recent ye­ars has raced to mine the internet for raw talent capable of crossing over to tr­aditional platforms like mo­vies and television, the pl­aces where the real money is still made. Those efforts have largely failed.

Another pair of YouTube sensations, Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiy­oshi, tried with “Ryan and Sean’s Not So Excellent Adventure” last year, for instance, but it never took off. What works on the web — rough-edged intimacy, qu­ick bites — just doesn’t seem to translate onto bigger screens.

But the director-producer Brian Robbins (“Norbit,” “Varsity Blues”), United Ta­lent Agency and a management company called the Collective are giving it a go with Cruikshank. “Fred: The Movie,” written by Da­vid A Goodman, an executive producer of “Family Guy,” started filming in November for a 2010 release. Pixie Lott, a budding Bri­tish singer and actress, is the co-star.

Robbins, whose television production credits include “Smallville,” and the Collective are financing the project with a budget in the low seven figures. Distribution plans are still unclear, but Jeremy Zimmer, a Un­ited Talent founding partn­er, said the agency would pu­rsue a theatrical release or possibly a pay-per-view option. The team has high expectations. “Given Fred’s audience on YouTube, cou­ld this be bigger than a heavyweight fight on pay-per-view? I think so,” Robbins said. Zimmer added, “It’s a kids’ comedy with a tonne of presold value. Plus, Lucas will be able to pump the audience through You­Tube.” Most amateur entertainers on the web, even very successful ones, are one-trick ponies: here I am showing how to apply eye shadow; here is my impersonation of grandpa without his dentures.

But Cruikshank has developed an entire world.

In his videos, Fred talks about his crush, Judy, and a bully named Kevin.