Oscars 2013: Best Picture nominees

The tiger (named Richard Parker due to a clerical error) makes short work of the other animals on board the lifeboat, but Pi's wits keep him safe, barely, as he endures the hardships and loneliness of weeks on the open ocean.

His isolation with Richard Parker leads to further questioning about the meaning of life, and whether his father was right about animal consciousness. To the filmmakers' great credit, the animals are never anthropomorphized; their behavior is accurate, and as mesmerizing as in a nature documentary involving predators and prey.

Credit: 20th Century Fox