Hillenburg made his first animated works , short films '' The Green Beret '' and '' Wormholes '' ( both 1992 ) , while at CalArts . '' The Green Beret '' was about a physically challenged Girl Scout with enormous fists who toppled houses and destroyed neighborhoods while trying to sell Girl Scout cookies . '' Wormholes '' was his seven-minute thesis film , about the theory of relativity . He described the latter as " a poetic animated film based on relativistic phenomena " in his grant proposal in 1991 to the Princess Grace Foundation , which assists emerging artists in American theater , dance , and film . The foundation agreed to fund the effort , providing Hillenburg with a Graduate Film Scholarship . " It meant a lot . They funded one of the projects I 'm most proud of , even with '' SpongeBob '' . It provided me the opportunity just to make a film that was personal , and what I would call independent , and free of some of the commercial needs , " he said in 2003 . '' Wormholes '' was shown at several international animation festivals , including : the Annecy International Animated Film Festival ; the Hiroshima International Animation Festival ; the Los Angeles International Animation Celebration ; the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen ; and the Ottawa International Animation Festival , where it won Best Concept . '' LA Weekly '' labeled the film " road-trippy " and " '' Zap '' - comical " , while Manohla Dargis of '' The New York Times '' opined that it was inventive
International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
Stephen Hillenburg