Few book-to-film adaptations survive the kind of development hell "Life of Pi" has and still make it to the screen. But, perhaps in the spirit of the story itself, somehow, someway, director Ang Lee completed the notoriously impossible-to-film project. Now we have the first trailer for the film, and it looks like it was well worth the wait.

As the first trailer for "Life of Pi" there's obviously a lot of weight to carry here. And while it's just two and half minutes long it's certainly more than enough time to show that Lee has created a truly spectacular, unique world with this film.

Based on the 2001 novel by Yann Martel, "Life of Pi" is a fantasy/adventure story about a 16-year-old boy named Pi who is the only person to survive the sinking of a freighter ship. After the ship sinks, Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with an orangutan, hyena, a wounded zebra, and a Bengal tiger

Lee ("Brokeback Mountain," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") was far from the first director to try his hand at adapting the bizarre story into a film. Before Lee, the project had numerous directors and writers attached. The Los Angeles Times credited Fox 2000 Pictures executive Elizabeth Gabler with keeping the project active.

Gabler had acquired the project to adapt Life of Pi into a film in Feb. 2003. First M. Night Shyamalan was on board to direct the film. The partners anticipated for Shyamalan to direct the film adaptation after completing The Village. Shyamalan also replaced Georgaris as the screenwriter, writing a new screenplay for the film. Ultimately, Shyamalan chose to film "Lady in the Water" after "The Village," and Fox 2000 Pictures decided to find another director.

Shyamalan said in 2006, "I was hesitant [to direct] because the book has kind of a twist ending. And I was concerned that as soon as you put my name on it, everybody would have a different experience."

Then Alfonso Cuarón ("Y Tu Mamá También," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") was nabbed to direct. Cuarón decided to direct "Children of Men" instead, and in October 2005, Fox 2000 Pictures hired Jean-Pierre Jeunet to direct the film. Jeunet began writing the adapted screenplay with Guillaume Laurant, and filming was scheduled to begin in mid-2006 and partially in India. Jeunet eventually left the project, and in February 2009, Fox 2000 Pictures hired Ang Lee to direct the film.

In May 2010, Lee and producer Gil Netter proposed a reported budget of $70 million, at which the studio balked, placing the project's development on hold for a short time. David Magee was hired to write the screenplay, and Lee spent several months looking for someone to cast as Pi. After 3,000 men auditioned, Lee chose to cast Suraj Sharma, a 17-year-old student and an acting newcomer, in October 2010.

The novel was rejected by at least five London publishing houses before being accepted by Knopf Canada, which published it in September 2001. The UK edition won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction the following year.

In a letter directly to author Martel, President Barack Obama described "Life of Pi" as "an elegant proof of God, and the power of storytelling"

"Life of Pi" will hit theaters on Nov. 21, 2012.