But while chasing his father Theodore's airplane, Thomas loses his balance and falls into a surreal world bordered by a run-down roller coaster track, which represents his mind and memories.

As he travels to other parts of his past, young Thomas witnesses the simultaneous events of both his father and his older self lamenting the deaths of their wives.

Ann makes Gem realize that in time Thomas grew as bitter as his own father due to their similar pasts.

When she notices a key not playing right, she opens the lid and discovers a brass name plate lodged between the wires, removing it and placing it on the repaired snow globe.

The tracks on the score are reinterpretations by Petri Alanko of songs previously released on the band's album Imaginaerum.

[6] All tracks are written by Tuomas Holopainen, except where notedNightwish Orchestra In the beginning of autumn 2008, Nightwish frontman Tuomas Holopainen first introduced the idea for the film to fellow band members and to film director Stobe Harju with whom the band had worked on the music video for "The Islander".

Holopainen's original idea was to shoot a music video for each of the thirteen songs of the album, but Harju suggested they should also include dialogue.

Both started pre-production on Imaginaerum and Harju wrote a 70-page first draft of the screenplay based on Holopainen's original ideas.

For the visuals of the film, he cited the works of Tim Burton, Neil Gaiman and Salvador Dalí as inspirations.

[8] Some of the music in the movie will be slightly different from that of the album and there will be also a score written by Petri Alanko, who composed the video game Alan Wake for which Harju directed the cutscenes.

A blog update on Nightwish's site stated that "Imaginaerum will in no way be a children’s movie but a dark and foreboding fantasy; a dream world that lacks no surprises."

Shooting was completed in 18 days between September and October 2011, mostly in Montreal, Quebec, Canada due to the incentives the country offers to foreign movie productions.

On October 11, 2011, the cast was announced on the official website, including Francis X. McCarthy, Quinn Lord, Marianne Farley, Joanna Noyes, Ilkka Villi, Keyanna Fielding, Ron Lea, Victoria Jung, Hélène Robitaille, and Stephane Demers.

"[14] Blabbermouth stated that "Imaginaerum creates a musical fantasy world in the vein of David Lynch, Neil Gaiman, and Cirque du Soleil.

The movie is an innovative mixture of story-telling and music, an extraordinary tale of the power of imagination… and what's ultimately important in life.

[16] About its premiere on North America's Fantasia Festival, Ariel Esteban Cayer stated that the film is "a must for die-hard Nightwish fans, of course, but also recommended to enthusiasts of dark fantasy, sombre musicals, the macabre and the enchanting.