Working with Jules Engel
While a student at CalArts, Hillenburg met a teacher whom he says
became one of the most significant influences on his artistic career—
Jules Engel. Engel was a pioneer in the art of animation. He worked
on Walt Disney classic animated films such as
Fantasia
and
Bambi
and created the well-known cartoon characters Mr. Magoo and Ger-
ald McBoing-Boing. Engel was also internationally recognized for
his abstract animation, live-action work, and fine art.
At CalArts Engel started the Character and Experimental Ani-
mation programs and served as the founding director of the Experi-
mental Animation program. As a teacher, Engel valued the personal
vision of each artist. He enjoyed helping his students develop and re-
fine their own artistic vision. Engel also believed that other art forms
had an influence on animation. He showed his students paintings
Jules Engel, an animation pioneer who worked on classic Disney animated films,
including
Bambi
, influenced Hillenburg’s ideas about the art of animation. Hillenburg
studied with Engel at California Institute of the Arts.
