Oscar-winning Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" trailer hits the web (video)

 July 25, 2012 - 16:17 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - After releasing a poster, Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" debuts its first full trailer, AceShowbiz said.

Without presenting any narration, the promotional video offers a proper look at the film's storyline. Opened with a scene where a storm crashes a ship, the footage highlights Pi Patel as he manages to stay alive by paddling in a lifeboat.

Pi is the precocious son of an Indian zookeeper. Along with his family, the protagonist decides to move to Canada by hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi is found adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival.

"Life of Pi" is an adaptation of Yann Martel's bestselling novel of the same title. While Oscar winner Lee serves behind the lens, Dan Fybel and Rich Rinaldi team up to pen the script. The movie marks the "Brokeback Mountain" helmer's first 3D creation, which he dubbed an "intimidating" experience.

"I was very intimidated," so Lee said back when he attended this year's CinemaCon in Las Vegas. "We're still novices at this. It's hard to shoot in 3D, but it makes it more interesting. The experience is more intense."

Starring Suraj Sharma, Tobey Maguire, Tabu, Irrfan Khan and Adil Hussain, the fantasy movie will grace the U.S. theaters on December 21, four days before Maguire's other film "The Great Gatsby" opens nationwide.