Willard Carroll | |
---|---|
Born | Easton, Maryland, U.S. | November 12, 1955
Occupation(s) | Producer, writer, director, animator |
Years active | 1983–2007 |
Television | The Proud Family |
Willard F. Carroll (born November 12, 1955, in Easton, Maryland) is an American producer, writer, director, and animator.
He was an executive producer for the animated films The Brave Little Toaster (1987), The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (1998) and The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1997), also writing the screenplay for the latter two.
He wrote and directed the Ragnarok-themed film The Runestone (1991), the ensemble romance, Playing by Heart (1998), Tom's Midnight Garden (1999) and the Bollywood pastiche Marigold (2007). Playing by Heart was entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. [1]
An ardent fan of the Land of Oz, 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's hourglass from the 1939 film. [2] He also wrote and produced the TV series The Oz Kids .
He established Hyperion Pictures with Tom Wilhite. [3]
John Philip Madden is an English director of stage, film, television, and radio. He is known for directing Shakespeare in Love (1998), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He has also gained recognition for directing The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) and its sequel The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015).
Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He first appeared in his 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappeared in many other subsequent Oz books in the series. In late 19th-century America, men made out of various tin pieces were used in advertising and political cartoons. Baum, who was editing a magazine on decorating shop windows when he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was inspired to invent the Tin Woodman by a figure he had built out of metal parts for a shop display.
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, Anthony Edwards, Angelina Jolie, Jay Mohr, Ryan Phillippe, Dennis Quaid, Gena Rowlands, Jon Stewart and Madeleine Stowe. Playing by Heart is an ensemble work that explores the path of love in its characters’ lives.
The Brave Little Toaster is a 1987 American animated musical fantasy film directed by Jerry Rees. It is based on the 1980 novella of the same name by Thomas M. Disch. The film stars Deanna Oliver, Timothy E. Day, Jon Lovitz, Tim Stack, and Thurl Ravenscroft, with Wayne Kaatz, Colette Savage, Phil Hartman, Joe Ranft, and Jim Jackman in supporting roles. It is set in a world where domestic appliances and other consumer electronics come to life, pretending to be lifeless in the presence of humans. The story focuses on five anthropomorphic household appliances, which include a toaster, a lamp stand, an electric blanket, a radio and a vacuum cleaner, who go on a quest to search for their owner.
Jerry W. Rees is an American film director and animator, best known for the Emmy-nominated animated feature film The Brave Little Toaster (1987) and creating many of the visual effects for the cult classic Tron (1982).
Joseph Henry Ranft was an American animator, screenwriter, and voice actor. He worked for Pixar Animation Studios and Disney at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation. His younger brother Jerome Ranft is a sculptor who also worked on several Pixar films.
David Louis Newman is an American composer and conductor known particularly for his film scores. In a career spanning more than thirty years, he has composed music for nearly 100 feature films, as well as the 1997 and 1998 versions of the 20th Century Fox fanfare. He received an Academy Award nomination for writing the score to the 1997 film Anastasia, contributing to the Newmans being the most nominated Academy Award extended family, with a collective 92 nominations in various music categories.
Mark E. Rogers was an American author and illustrator.
David Eric Lloyd Morelli is an American actor. He is best known for work as a child actor in such roles as Charlie Calvin in Disney's The Santa Clause film trilogy and the follow-up series The Santa Clauses, as well as "Little John" Warner in the NBC television series Jesse, and Kyle Grant in Dunston Checks In.
The Brave Little Toaster is a 1980 novella by American writer Thomas M. Disch intended for children or, as put by the author, a "bedtime story for small appliances". The story centers on a group of five household appliances—a tensor lamp stand, an electric blanket, an AM radio alarm clock, a vacuum cleaner and a toaster—on their quest to find their original owner referred to as the Master.
Jonathan Benair was an American actor who did the voice of the Black and White TV in the animated film The Brave Little Toaster and Jim Bob in The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue, the latter of which was released posthumously.
Hyperion Pictures is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Thomas L. Wilhite, who had previously been the head of motion picture and television production for The Walt Disney Company, and writer/director Willard Carroll. The company produces both live-action and animated productions such as The Brave Little Toaster and The Runestone.
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars is a 1998 American animated direct-to-video musical film 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), as well as the third and final installment in The Brave Little Toaster film series. The film was released direct-to-video on May 19, 1998, in the United States by Walt Disney Home Video. In the film, the five appliances of their Master head off on a trip to the red planet Mars after finding out that his infant son was sent there.
The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue is a 1997 American animated musical film. Unlike other installments in the Brave Little Toaster lineup, it is the only film not to be based on the novella of the same name by Thomas M. Disch. It is the sequel to The Brave Little Toaster (1987). The film was released direct-to-video on May 20, 1997, in the United Kingdom and on May 25, 1999, in the United States by Walt Disney Home Video.
The Kushner-Locke Company was an American independent motion picture/television production company founded on March 12, 1983 by Donald Kushner and Peter Locke.
Alice in Wonderland is a 1949 French film based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Directed by Dallas Bower, the film stars Carol Marsh as Alice, Stephen Murray as Lewis Carroll, and Raymond Bussières as The Tailor. Most of the Wonderland characters are portrayed by stop-motion animated puppets created by Lou Bunin.
Tom's Midnight Garden is a 1999 family fantasy film directed by Willard Carroll and starring Nigel Le Vaillant, Marlene Sidaway and Serena Gordon. The screenplay concerns a boy who discovers a secret garden. The film was based on the novel Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce, and filmed at Chenies Manor House in Buckinghamshire. The film was produced by Hyperion Pictures.
Ozzie Ahlers is an American songwriter and music producer who plays the keyboard, guitar, and bass. In addition to a solo career, he has played keyboards with Van Morrison, Jerry Garcia. and Craig Chaquico.
The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, but like all animals in Oz, he can speak.