He lived in Oak Park, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago, and attended Evanston Township High School, where he began developing his drawing style.

For these sequences, Engel emphasized the contrast between the bright figures and dark ground, which critics consider as an important development of modern animation away from naturalism.

[citation needed] He was an animator in the First Motion Picture Unit during World War II, alongside the likes of Ronald Reagan, and Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss).

The Air Force eventually recruited Engel for the Motion Picture Unit to work on training videos and war bond advertisements, at the Hal Roach Studios in Culver City.

Engel was one of a group of animators—including John Hubley, and Herbert Klynn—who left Disney to join the United Productions of America (UPA) studio.

At UPA, Engel worked as a background artist on cartoons including the Oscar-winning Gerald McBoing Boing, Madeline, and Mr. Magoo, becoming art director in 1950.

[citation needed] Engel brought to UPA his distinctive use of color, influenced by abstract painting and the work of Kandinsky, Klee, Miró, Matisse, Dufy, as well of the Bauhaus book "Language of Vision".

[3] Engel would later claim responsibility for discovering the children's book Madeline, and suggesting to Stephen Bosustow to buy, copyright, and develop the series.

[citation needed] Together with Herbert Klynn and Buddy Getzler, former colleagues from UPA, Engel founded the television animation studio Format Films.

This was a theatre production in Paris for produced and directed by Raymond Gérôme which combined animation by Engel with a live performance on stage.

The recipients of the awards are those students who have carried out their work at CalArts in Jules' name, having demonstrated rigor, daring imagination and great curiosity about the world, leading to inventive, interdisciplinary projects.

Many of his students carried out his influence through their work, including John Lasseter, Henry Selick, Tim Burton, Stephen Hillenburg, Joanna Priestley, Christine Panushka, Peter Chung, Glen Keane, Ellen Woodbury, Eric Darnell, Mark Osborne, Steven Subotnick, Patrice Stellest, and Mark Kirkland.