Bengal tiger Richard Parker purrs into our hearts as the fuzzy orange star of the 3D film and highly regarded book Life of Pi. He enables Pi to come to terms with his spirituality, and also does him a solid by not eating the kid on day one; Richard Parker is a pretty stand-up tiger.
However, why don’t we rock the boat, and find out what would happened if this beloved big cat was replaced by other famous fictional tigers?
Hobbes
Pi and Hobbes’s imaginary adventures would keep the boy sane for the 227 day journey. Instead of exploring spirituality, Pi and Hobbes would be spacemen, race car drivers, and also explore spirituality (but in a much less obvious way.)
Verdict: Good Tiger Choice
Shere Khan
The life of Pi would be a short one, if Shere Khan stole Richard Parker’s custom-tiger-water-wings. Shere Khan has been hungry ever since he tried to eat Mowgli those many years ago. After being foiled in The Jungle Book, Khan made a vow to sate his hunger for Indian boy meat — if he had to sink a boat to do it. However, Shere Khan, the Benedict Cumberbatch of the tiger world, would provide a certain layer of sophistication to the life raft after devouring the introspective Pi.
Verdict: Bad Tiger Choice
Tigger
You read the inevitable Christopher Robin/Piscine Patel comparison here first! Was Richard Parker a real tiger the whole time or perhaps he was a figment of a young, scared boy’s dehydration-addled mind? Perhaps the hyena, orangutan, and zebra could be interpreted as insightful re-imaginings of Kanga, Piglet, and Eeyore. Is Life of Pi the new, more enlightened Winnie the Pooh? The Hundred Acre Wood always did seem as vast as the ocean. Be assured that somewhere, some English Ph.D. student is penning this very theory in dissertation form entitled “The Life of Pooh.” Sorry, A.A. Milne.
Verdict: Neutral Tiger Choice
Rajah
As illustrated in Aladin, Rajah is basically a housecat. He’s empathetic, he’ll judge your boyfriends, and he’ll throw up hairballs on your turquoise harem pants. His only real use is aiding in palace escapes and/or being a fluffy tiger pillow at night.
Verdict: Bad Tiger Choice
Tygra
With Tygra’s science knowledge, Pi would soon find himself equipped with a desalinator, solar power, and maybe even a TV. This would detract from Pi’s spiritual journey, but he could keep himself entertained with reruns of LOST, Gilligan’s Island, and a daily 3pm showing of Castaway.
Verdict: Neutral Tiger Choice
