The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Charles McKeown.

The film follows the leader of a travelling theatre troupe who, having made a deal with the Devil, takes audience members through a magical mirror to explore their imaginations.

Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, and Heath Ledger star in the film, though Ledger’s death one-third of the way through filming caused production to be temporarily suspended. Ledger’s role was recast with Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell portraying transformations of Ledger’s character Tony as he travels through a dream world.

The film’s world premiere was during the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, out of competition. The UK release of the film was scheduled for 6 June 2009 but pushed back to 16 October 2009 due to its successful premiere at Cannes.

Plot
In the present day, immortal thousand-year-old Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) leads a travelling theatre troupe—including a sleight of hand expert, Anton (Andrew Garfield), and a dwarf, Percy (Verne Troyer)—that offers audience members a chance to go beyond reality through a magical mirror in his possession.

Parnassus had been able to guide the imagination of others through a deal with the Devil (Tom Waits), who now comes to collect on the arrangement, targeting the doctor’s daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole).

The troupe, which is joined by a mysterious outsider named Tony (portrayed by Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell), embark through parallel worlds to rescue the girl.

Directed by Terry Gilliam

Produced by
Samuel Hadida
Amy Gilliam
William Vince
Terry Gilliam

Written by: Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown

Cast
* Christopher Plummer as Doctor Parnassus: The 1,000-year-old leader of a travelling theatre troupe
* Heath Ledger as Tony: A mysterious outsider who joins the group. When Ledger died in the midst of production, the role was recast for certain scenes to have Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law portray “physically transformed versions” of the character.
* Andrew Garfield as Anton
* Verne Troyer as Percy
* Lily Cole as Valentina: Doctor Parnassus’ daughter.
* Tom Waits as Mr Nick
* Peter Stormare as The President of the Universe: a world statesman
* Maggie Steed as Louis Vuitton Woman
* Mark Benton as Dad
* Simon Day as Uncle Bob
* Paloma Faith as Sally
* Richard Riddell as Martin
* Montserrat Lombard as Sally’s friend

Music by : Jeff Danna, Mychael Danna
Cinematography Nicola Pecorini
Editing by Mick Audsley
Studio: Davis Films, Grosvenor Park

Distributed by
Metropolitan Filmexport France
Lionsgate UK
Sony Pictures Classics USA

Release date(s)
United Kingdom: October 16, 2009
Australia: October 29, 2009
New Zealand: October 29, 2009
United States (limited release): December 25, 2009
United States (wide release): January 8, 2010
Canada: December 25, 2009

Running time 122 minutes
Country: United Kingdom, Canada
Language English
Budget $45 million

Official website: www.doctorparnassus.com