Willard F. Carroll (born November 12, 1955, in

Easton, Maryland Easton is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,945 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2019 of 16,671. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary ...

) is an American producer, writer, director, and animator.

Career

He was an executive producer of ''The Brave Little Toaster'', ''

The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars'' is a 1998 American animated musical film. It is based on the 1988 novella of the same name by Thomas M. Disch. It is the sequel to ''The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue'' (1997). The film was released ...

'' and ''

The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue ''The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue'' is a 1997 American animated film, animated musical film. Unlike other novellas in "The Brave Little Toaster" lineup, it is the first film not to be based on the novella of the same name by Thomas M. Dis ...

'', also writing the screenplay for the last two films. He wrote and directed the Ragnarok-themed film ''

The Runestone ''The Runestone'' is an American 1991 adventure/horror film, the first film written and directed by Willard Carroll. The film is an updating of the Ragnarok legend, with Fenrir being found in a runestone in Pennsylvania unearthed by archaeolog ...

'', the ensemble romance, ''

Playing by Heart ''Playing by Heart'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film, which tells the story of several seemingly unconnected characters. It was entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. It stars Gillian Anderson, Ellen Burstyn, Sean Connery, ...

'', ''

Tom's Midnight Garden ''Tom's Midnight Garden'' is a children's fantasy novel by Philippa Pearce. It was first published in 1958 by Oxford University Press with illustrations by Susan Einzig. It has been reissued in print many times and also adapted for radio, telev ...

'' and the

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

pastiche '' Marigold''. ''Playing by Heart'' was entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. An ardent fan of the

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, the Gillikin Country in the north, Quadli ...

, Carroll is recognized as having the largest privately held collection of Oz memorabilia in the world, comprising more than 100,000 items. Several books, including ''The Wizard of Oz Collectors' Treasury'' and ''All Things Oz'', have been published displaying parts of his collection, which includes the

Wicked Witch of the West The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character who appears in the classic children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900), created by American author L. Frank Baum. In Baum's subsequent ''Oz'' novels, it is the Nome King who is ...

's hourglass from the 1939 film. He also wrote and produced the TV series ''

The Oz Kids ''The Oz Kids'' is an American direct-to-video animated fantasy comedy-drama series produced by Hyperion Animation based on '' The Wizard of Oz'', L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's novel, and its various sequels. Nine episodes were released between ...

''. He established

Hyperion Pictures Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...

with Tom Wilhite.

Director

*1991 - ''

'' *1998 - ''

'' *1999 - ''

'' *2007 - '' Marigold''

References

External links

* 1955 births People from Easton, Maryland Living people Animators from Maryland American film producers American animated film producers American animated film directors American male screenwriters Film directors from Maryland Screenwriters from Maryland {{US-film-director-1950s-stub