Jorge R. Gutierrez (born January 25, 1975) is a Mexican

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

, writer, producer, director, and voice actor. He co-created with Sandra Equihua the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

animated series '' El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera'', co-wrote and directed '' The Book of Life'', ''Son of Jaguar'' for

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

, and ''

Maya and the Three Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

'' for

Netflix Animation Netflix Animation (also known as Netflix Animation Studios) is an American animation studio and a subsidiary of Netflix, Inc. It was founded in March 2018 and based in Los Angeles, California. The studio is best known for producing and developing ...

Biography

Born in 1975 in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and raised in

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, Gutierrez has completed various films, cartoons, illustrations and paintings exploring his love of Mexican pop and folk culture. Gutierrez attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

(CalArts), where he received his BFA (1997) & MFA (2000) in Experimental Animation under

Jules Engel Jules Engel (; March 11, 1909 – September 6, 2003) was an American filmmaker, painter, sculptor, graphic artist, set designer, animator, film director, and teacher of Hungarian origin. He was the founding director of the experimental anima ...

, and was mentored by Maureen Selwood. There he created the 3D short ''Carmelo'', which won the 2001 Student Emmy Award in animation and was screened at Kodak's Emerging Filmmakers Program at the 2001

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. In 2000, Gutierrez worked under animator

Maurice Noble Maurice James Noble (May 1, 1911 – May 18, 2001) was an American animation production designer, background artist and layout designer whose contributions to the industry spanned more than 60 years. He was a long-time associate and right-hand ma ...

, for the art direction of

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

' ''Timberwolf'' for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

In 2001, he began creating ''Jorge Gutierrez' El Macho'', an animated web series for

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

. Gutierrez has also done character design on many animated series including

's ''

ChalkZone ''ChalkZone'' is an American animated television series created by Bill Burnett and Larry Huber for Nickelodeon. The series follows Rudy Tabootie, an elementary school student who discovers a box of magic chalk that allows him to draw portals ...

'', as well as

Kids' WB Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later on The CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a co ...

's ''

¡Mucha Lucha! ''¡Mucha Lucha!'' (subtitled ''Gigante'' during its third and final season) is an American animated television series that aired on the Kids' WB block on The WB from August 17, 2002, to February 26, 2005. It was created by Eddie Mort and Lili C ...

'',

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

's ''

Class of 3000 ''Class of 3000'' is an American animated children's musical television series created by André 3000 (best known as a member of the hip hop duo Outkast) and Thomas W. Lynch for Cartoon Network. Produced by Tom Lynch Company and Moxie Turtle ...

'', and

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's '' The Buzz on Maggie'' for which he was nominated for a 2006 Annie Award in character design. As a writer, he's worked on Scholastic's '' Maya & Miguel'' as well as Disney's '' Brandy & Mr. Whiskers'' and '' Vampirina''. In 2008, Gutierrez won two Annie awards (Best TV Animated Show & Best TV Character Design) and one Emmy (Best TV Character Design) working on his passion project for Nickelodeon, '' El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera'', along with his co-creator and wife, Sandra Equihua who also won an Emmy for her character designs. In 2010, he created some of the sketches in Cartoon Network's '' Mad'' including "Dear Reaper...", "Dog vs Mailman" (part 1, 2 and 3), "Video Game Cheats", "Arcade Boy" and "Dog vs Fire Hydrant". In 2012, Gutierrez directed and co-wrote an animated adventure feature film with a ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' style love story set against a Mexican "

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

" backdrop. The film, with the official title '' The Book of Life'', was co-produced with

20th Century Fox Animation 20th Century Animation, Inc. (previously known as Fox Family Films, Fox Animation Studios, and 20th Century Fox Animation and sometimes referred to as Fox Animation) is an American animation studio located in Century City, Los Angeles. Formed ...

and was released on October 17, 2014. He earned his first

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

nomination for Best Animated Feature Film in 2014. He was also nominated for three Annie awards (Best Film, Best Director & Best Character Design). In February 2015, Reel FX and Gutierrez announced a multi-year, multi-picture deal which included Kung Fu Space Punch and The Book of Life 2. In 2016 Gutierrez designed, voiced, wrote and directed the Annie and Emmy nominated ''Son of Jaguar'' VR short for

Spotlight Stories. In 2016, Gutierrez was awarded an Impact Award by the National Hispanic Media Coalition for his “Outstanding Direction in a Motion Picture”. On August 2, 2017, it was reported that Gutierrez would write and direct '' The Billion Brick Race'', a spin-off of ''

The Lego Movie ''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, the film stars the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will ...

'', for

Warner Animation Group Warner Bros. Pictures Animation (WBPA), formerly known as the Warner Animation Group (WAG), is an American animation studio that serves as the animated feature film label of Warner Bros.' theatrical film production and distribution division, W ...

. However, on February 8, 2018, it was reported that Gutierrez had permanently cancelled the project. In October 2020, he signed an over-all-deal with

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Animation. He directed the Immigration music video for the Emmy Award-winning series ''

We the People The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence of ...

'', and wrote and directed the Annie (Best TV Animated Show & Best TV Music) and Emmy (Best Writing, Best Promo, Best Sound and Individual Achievement for Color) Award-winning ''

'', a nine episode animated limited series for

. He had been developing a follow-up series to ''Maya'' set in the same universe for Netflix titled ''Kung Fu Space Punch'', however, it was scrapped in 2022 along with many other planned animated series. He was also set to direct an original animated film titled ''I, Chihuahua'' from a script he wrote with Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias. However, the film was cancelled in April 2024, due to creative differences. In December 2024 and February 2025, Gutierrez hinted that had a meetings with

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

on a potential new project.

Personal life

Gutierrez did not speak until the age of five. As an adult, he was diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

following his son's diagnosis.

Filmography

Film

Television

Bibliography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Jorge 1975 births Living people Annie Award winners California Institute of the Arts alumni People from Tijuana Artists from Baja California Artists from Mexico City Children's and Family Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award winners Mexican illustrators Mexican animators Culture of Mexico Mexican expatriate male actors in the United States Nickelodeon Animation Studio people 20th Century Animation people Netflix people Netflix Animation people Showrunners of animated series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera Autistic actors Autistic artists