The movie “Life of Pi” is based on a novel of the same name written by Yann Martell. Although the book and film primarily revolve around characters from India, Martell himself is Canadian. During his childhood and adolescence, Martell lived in Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico, France and Canada. He writes in English, but French is his first language. Other Martell books include “We Ate the Children Last” and “Beatrice and Virgil.”

The story, in both the novel and the film, centers on the life of Piscine Molitor, an Indian boy named after a swimming pool in Paris. Due to his name attracting ridicule from children at school, Piscine takes the nickname Pi. “The Life of Pi” is told in a framed story format, meaning an older Pi is telling the story to a reporter. The story is mostly about how young Pi survived a shipwreck and spent time in a lifeboat with wild animals, including an adult Bengal tiger.

In addition to drawing a lot of attention from moviegoers of all ages, “Life of Pi” also has quite a few interesting tidbits associated with it. The film is directed by Ang Lee, but many other popular directors joined the film at some point in development, including M. Night Shyamalan.

“Life of Pi” also has several fun connections to the Spider-Man movie franchise, including tie-ins to the Tobey Maguire-starring trilogy, as well as “The Amazing Spider-Man” reboot movie. The first link involves Maguire and Andrew Garfield, who played Peter Parker in the most recent film. Maguire was originally cast as the reporter interviewing the older Pi, but Garfield was also considered for the role. Although Maguire shot some scenes, Ang Lee made the decision to replace him before editing. Lee reportedly felt that Maguire was too much of an actor for the role.

Another link to Spider-Man can be found in actor Irrfan Khan. Khan, who plays the adult version of Pi, played the role of Dr. Rajit Ratha in “The Amazing Spider-Man.” The tiger’s name in “Life of Pi” is Richard Parker, which is also the name of Peter Parker’s father in “The Amazing Spider-Man”.

However, Martel did not get Richard Parker’s name from the Spider-Man stories. He got the name from an English law case from 1884. The case, known as R. v. Dudley and Stephens, focused on a discussion of whether necessity could be used as a defense in a murder trial. Specifically, the plot was about cannibalism in a castaway situation. Four men, including a seventeen-year-old cabin boy named Richard Parker, were shipwrecked. After days of starvation, the other three men killed a possibly dying Parker and ate him. Martel’s choice of this name for a shipwrecked tiger that could, at any moment, eat Pi is full of black comedy.

The ship’s name from the 1884 court case was Mignonette. In a scene from “Life of Pi” where the older Pi is being interviewed, a ship called the Mignonette passes in the background.

An interesting fact about the making of the film has to do with the tiger. Suraj Sharma, the actor who plays Pi, has reportedly never been in contact with a real tiger. In fact, all the scenes depicting Sharma and the tiger inside the lifeboat were computerized. Although the CGI is very well done, there is at least one moment in the film where it is apparent to viewers. The tiger jumps from an island to the boat, but there is no movement on the surface of the boat. When Pi makes the same move a moment later, the surface of the boat flexes under his weight.

However, Sharma was hardly seen in the lifeboat. She didn’t even intend to audition for the movie. She was with her brother, who was answering a casting call, when the casting team saw him. With over 3,000 other young people applying for the role, the team cast Sharma as the lead. “Life of Pi” was Sharma’s first film, and as of January 2013, he has not appeared as an actor in any other film.

“Life of Pi” is a fun and thoughtful film that examines themes like survival and religion in a unique and offbeat way. It’s fitting that the movie is also associated with so much fun and weird trivia.