Willard Carroll (born 1955 in Easton, Maryland) is an American film producer, writer, and director. He was executive producer of The Brave Little Toaster series, writing the screenplays for The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue and The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars.He wrote and directed the Ragnarok-themed horror/adventure film The Runestone, the ensemble romance, Playing by Heart, the family film, Tom's Midnight Garden, and the Bollywood pastiche, Marigold. Playing by Heart was entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival.The book I, Toto, published by Abrams Image, 2013, second edition, is fabricated to sell books. Carroll's whole premise of the book is that he found a scrapbook of Toto. Carroll writes that he found a tin box containing a scrapbook of the Wizard of Oz dog fame, Toto while walking on a construction site of the Ventura freeway in 1993. Carroll then used fiction to tell the story of Toto's life from Toto's perspective, apparently using the scrapbook as reference. The fact is, the Ventura freeway was built in 1958 and has had little change since then. The freeway is also 40feet above ground crossing over the LA river or wash, no place for a "bulldozer" to move dirt as Carroll describes in his book. The Spitz children have also reported that there was never such a scrapbook about Toto. In fact, Carroll apparently interviewed Mrs. Spitz, Carl Spitz' spouse in 1993, but failed to interview the Spitz children whom were in their 50s in the 1990s. Abrams and Carroll have never admitted to fabricating the facts. An ardent fan of the Land of Oz, Carroll is recognized as having the largest privately held collection of Oz memorabilia in the world, and several books, including The Wizard of Oz Collectors' Treasury and All Things Oz have been published displaying parts of is collection, which includes the Wicked Witch of the West's hourglass from the 1939 MGM film. He also wrote and produced the video series, The Oz Kids.He established Hyperion Pictures with Thomas L. Wilhite, a former Disney executive who greenlighted Return to Oz. Other animated films his studio released include The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina, The Tangerine Bear, Rover Dangerfield, and Bebe's Kids.
Has the largest private collection of L. Frank Baum and Oz related material in the world, which was subject of the book "100 Years of Oz" by John Fricke.
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Graduated from USC School of Cinema-Television (1978)
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Proud Family
2002-2005
TV Series executive producer - 2 episodes
The Proud Family Movie
2005
TV Movie executive producer
Three Way
2004
executive producer
My Louisiana Sky
2001
TV Movie executive producer
The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas!
2000
Video executive producer
Jingle Bells
1999
TV Movie executive producer
O' Christmas Tree
1999
Video executive producer
The Sissy Duckling
1999
TV Movie executive producer
Playing by Heart
1998
producer
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars
1998
Video executive producer
Life with Louie
1995-1998
TV Series executive producer - 37 episodes
Cartoon Sushi
1998
TV Series executive producer - 1 episode
The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue
1997
Video executive producer
Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special
1997
TV Movie executive producer
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995-1997
TV Series executive producer - 9 episodes
Killing Mr. Griffin
1997
TV Movie executive producer
Journey Beneath the Sea
1997
Video executive producer
The Monkey Prince
1997
Video executive producer
The Return of Mombi
1997
Video executive producer
Underground Adventure
1997
Video executive producer
Christmas in Oz
1996
Video short executive producer
Who Stole Santa?
1996
Video executive producer
The Nome Prince and the Magic Belt
1996
Video executive producer
Toto Lost in New York
1996
Video executive producer
Virtual Oz
1996
Video executive producer
The Adventures of Hyperman
1995
TV Series executive producer
Life with Louie: A Christmas Surprise for Mrs. Stillman
1994
TV Short executive producer
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
1994
TV Series executive producer - 1 episode
Bébé's Kids
1992
producer
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
1992
Short producer
Rover Dangerfield
1991
producer
The Brave Little Toaster
1987
executive producer
Nutcracker
1986
producer
Chicago on the Good Foot
1983
TV Movie documentary supervising producer
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Marigold
2007
written by
The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina
2002
Video
Tom's Midnight Garden
1999
screenplay
Playing by Heart
1998
written by
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars
1998
Video screenplay
The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue
1997
Video story and screenplay
Journey Beneath the Sea
1997
Video
The Monkey Prince
1997
Video
The Return of Mombi
1997
Video
Underground Adventure
1997
Video
Christmas in Oz
1996
Video short
The Successor
1996
screenplay
Who Stole Santa?
1996
Video
The Nome Prince and the Magic Belt
1996
Video
Toto Lost in New York
1996
Video
Virtual Oz
1996
Video
The Runestone
1991
screenplay
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
Marigold
2007
Tom's Midnight Garden
1999
Playing by Heart
1998
The Runestone
1991
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Because of the Wonderful Things It Does: The Legacy of Oz
2005
Video documentary short
Himself
Memories of Oz
2001
TV Special short documentary
Himself - Oz collector
The Making of 'The Oz Kids'
1996
Video short documentary
Creator
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2002
Andrew Carnegie Medal
Association for Library Service to Children
My Louisiana Sky (2001)
2002
Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Children's Special
My Louisiana Sky (2001)
1997
CableACE
CableACE Awards
Children's Special or Series - 6 and Younger
Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special (1997)
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1999
Golden Berlin Bear
Berlin International Film Festival
Playing by Heart (1998)
1999
Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Special Class Animated Program
Life with Louie (1995)
1995
CableACE
CableACE Awards
Children's Special or Series - 6 and Younger
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995)
1989
ACE
CableACE Awards
Children's Entertainment Special or Series - 8 and Younger