Back during CinemaCon I was a little harsh on gun-jumpers quick to shout “OSCAR!” in response to footage shown from Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi.” Then when I caught the out-of-context flying fish scene in front of “Prometheus,” I was just left a bit cold, if curious.

Well, while I won’t outright offer a mea culpa (tossing that word around after 10 minutes is just too steep), I will say I understand why that footage must have been so captivating. Because the just-released trailer is full of scope, wonder, imagination and sheer cinematic passion. It signals what will at the very least be a singular vision, and knowing that vision is coming from Ang Lee has me very, very excited.

Based on the fantasy novel by Yann Martel, the film tells the spiritual story of an Indian boy (Pi) who survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific with a Bengal tiger.

The film bounced around, from M. Night Shyamalan to Alfonso Cuarón, before landing with Lee. Each director moved on to “Lady in the Water” and “Children of Men” respectively before getting their version off the ground.

Will the film have Oscar written all over it? Time will tell. Fox sure would like to be in the game again and this has all the pedigree you could hope for. Still, films with this high a profile crash and burn every season. I’m just interested to see what Lee has to say with this material. He rarely disappoints.

Check out the new trailer, courtesy of Apple, below. Tell us what you think in the comments section or feel free to rank it above.

“Life of Pi” opens everywhere November 21.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Hjrs6WQ8M&w=640&h=360]