Magical new Life of Pi trailer lands

Cape Town - A new international, subtitle-free trailer for Ang Lee's much anticipated movie adaptation of Yann Martel's bestseller Life of Pi has been released, exclusively on Channel24.

Life of Pi tells the story of an Indian boy named Pi Patel, a zookeeper's son who is set adrift on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after the ship he is travelling on with his family and their zoo animals en route to Canada sinks.

The ship goes down during a vicious storm, leaving Pi as the sole survivor on a small lifeboat – along with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, a spotted hyena, an injured zebra, and an orangutan.

"I was born and raised in one of the most beautiful places on Earth," the adult Pi tells a writer (Martel) who is fascinated by his story of survival. "It was a time filled with wonder that I'll always remember. But when my family chose to move our zoo halfway across the world, that was when my greatest journey began."

'An elegant proof of God'

The new trailer also features recognisable songs such Sæglópur by Icelandic band Sigur Ros and Paradise by Coldplay.

The novel by Yann Martel won the Booker Prize in 2002 and was described by US President Barack Obama, in a letter to the author, as "an elegant proof of God, and the power of storytelling".

Life of Pi boasts a cast that includes Irrfan Khan as the adult 'Pi' Patel, Suraj Sharma as his younger self, Gerard Depardieu as The Chef, and British actor Rafe Spall as Martel, replacing Tobey Maguire late in production due to Ang Lee's desire to have an entirely international cast.

Life of Pi is set for release on 21 November in the US, while Nu Metro will release the fantasy epic in South Africa on 21 December.

Watch the international Life of Pi trailer here: