Terry Gilliam’s THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS Comic Con 2009 Panel

I wasn’t all that excited for THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS, but the Comic Con 2009 panel totally changed my mind.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus tells the story of Dr. Parnassus who made deal with the devil a while back, and now has to give him his daughter who is about to turn 16. Dr. Parnassus decides to make yet another deal in order to save his daughter. The first person that is able to seduce five souls will get her. Armed with his imaginarium, Dr. Parnassus and his “team” will try to get people to enter the world of dreams through the imaginarium.

The imaginarium, from what I understand, shows people different things when you enter it, depending on what their dreams and desires are.

During the panel, we got to see a few clips, which I absolutely loved. The first one showed Parnassus meeting the devil for the first time. The second one was a clip featuring Heath Ledger as he tries to get people interested in the imaginarium, which you can watch below.

And finally the third clip showed what happens to one person who steps into the imaginarium, let me tell you, it’s not pretty.

Now I will admit that this is not for everyone, but if you enjoy that type of dreamlike/fantasy, then it’s something you might want to check out.

And for those wondering how Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell each replaced Heath Ledger in the movie. Well every time that Heath Ledger’s character, Tony, enters the imaginarium, he changes appearance, which is then portrayed by each of the actors. It’s actually a really smart way to do it, which fits with the story being told.

I’m personally really looking forward to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. But unfortunately there is no US release yet, although the movie will be released on October 16, 2009 in the UK.

As for the panel itself, I think that Terry Gilliam is the person that got asked the best questions at Comic Con, which made it very enjoyable.

Check out more pictures from the The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Comic Con 2009 panel below.