Maps of Movies
Life of Pi (2012)
Where Life of Pi says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Almost all of the story happens in the open Pacific, and the Pacific was a tank built in an abandoned airport in Taiwan.
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Scenes and places
A writer in Montreal hears about Pi
A writer comes to Pi's door after being told Pi has a story worth a book. Pi begins to tell it, and the writer is not sure he can believe it.
Set in Montreal, Quebec — The city where the grown-up Pi tells his story to a writer. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A big Canadian city, far from where the story begins.
Filmed at Montreal — Production ended in Montreal; the source does not say which scenes were filmed there. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Growing up in Pondicherry
Pi grows up between three faiths and a school where his name gets him mocked. He wants to love God in every way he can find.
Set in Pondicherry (Puducherry), India — The coastal town in what was French India where Pi grows up. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A town on India's southeast coast with a French past.
Filmed at Puducherry — Filming began here on January 18, 2011, and ran until January 31; the source does not name which scenes. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Filmed at Holy Rosary Church, Muthialpet, Puducherry — The first place filmed. The scene it was used for is not stated; the coordinate is the Muthialpet district, not the church itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Patel family zoo
Pi is fascinated by Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger in the family zoo. His father wants him to learn what the animal really is.
Set in Patel family zoo, Pondicherry — The zoo the family runs in Pondicherry. The coordinate is the town; the zoo's site is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A working zoo that gives the story its animals.
Filmed at Taipei Zoo — Taipei Zoo is one of three Taiwan sites listed for the shoot; the source does not say which scenes were filmed there. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The freighter and the storm
The family sails for Canada with the zoo animals on a Japanese freighter. A storm hits in the night, and Pi is thrown into a lifeboat.
Set in Pacific Ocean, above the Mariana Trench — The ship is at sea, four days out of Manila; the story gives no fixed point on land.
Open water in the western Pacific.
Filmed at Shuinan Airport wave tank, Taichung — The ocean scenes were shot in a wave tank built in this abandoned airport; the source does not say the ship scenes specifically. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Adrift in the lifeboat
Pi wakes on the lifeboat with a zebra and an orangutan, then a hyena. Later Richard Parker appears, and Pi must find a way to share the boat.
Set in Pacific Ocean (lifeboat) — Pi survives at sea in a lifeboat shared with animals; no fixed place is given.
A small boat on an open sea that was filmed in a tank.
Filmed at Shuinan Airport wave tank, Taichung — The ocean scenes were shot at a wave tank built in this abandoned airport. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The floating island
Pi and Richard Parker find an island that seems to offer food and water. At night something about it changes.
Set in Floating island — A floating island with a forest, fresh pools and thousands of meerkats. It exists only in Pi's story.
A place that exists only in the story.
Mexico and the hospital
Pi is on land at last, and two investigators want to know why the freighter sank. They do not accept what he tells them.
Set in Mexican coast and hospital, 1978 — Pi reaches Mexico after more than 200 days at sea and is questioned in a hospital there. The source gives no town.
A hospital on the Mexican coast.
Filmed at Kenting National Park, Pingtung County — Scene not specified Google Maps · Apple Maps
Filmed at Munnar, Kerala — Scene not specified Google Maps · Apple Maps
Characters
- Pi Patel — A boy from Pondicherry who follows three religions and is cast adrift at sea.
- Pi's father — The rationalist owner of the family zoo who decides the family must move to Canada.
- Richard Parker — The Bengal tiger from the zoo that shares the lifeboat with Pi.
Questions answered on the map
- Where was the Pacific in Life of Pi really filmed?