Rating: 
Summary: WOW!!!
Review: HEIDI NOT ONLY EXPOSED HER LIFE TO US , BUT I FELT LIKE I
WAS PEERING INTO HER VERY SOUL IHAVE NOT HAD THAT REACTION SINCE THE FIRST TIME I READ "CATCHER IN THE RYE"
HEIDI IS THE FEMALE 21ST CENTURY VERSION OF HOLDEN CAULFIELD. IT WAS FRANK, FUNNY, AND IRRESTIBLE. I ONLY HOPE SHE DOES A SEQUEL. IT CRIES FOR ONE. WOW! WHAT A LIFE. EDHAYES
LAGUNA WOODS CA. 92653
Rating:
Summary: Hope, humor, and determination
Review: Heidi Guedel is not only a survivor, but an excellent storyteller. Her autobiography tells the tale of her struggle against abuse and discrimination, her adventures in school and as an animator, and most of all, the developing sense of humor which helped her get through it all. Alternately heart-rending and hilarious, this is a book that's hard to put down. As Heidi was the child of a television producer living in Beverly Hills, celebrity-watchers should find enough famous names peppering the pages of this book to satisfy them, and anyone interested in animation history will enjoy the skewed and very alternate point of view of the pranks, politics, and subterfuge which went on behind the scenes at Walt Disney Studios animation department.
Rating:
Summary: Whattaread!
Review: I had the pleasure of interviewing Heidi Guedel in person for an article I wrote in my local newspaper and in doing so received a copy of this book. I read all 350 pages in only two days and thoroughly enjoyed it. Just as I felt whenever I watched a Disney film with my children, I laughed, I cried, I was angry in some parts and awestruck in others. When I reached the end of the book I was saddened until I learned that there will be an AnimatrixII! This author is a fine storyteller and despite her tumultuous upbringing, she has managed to find her way to the top of her craft and had a great time along the way! Please don't let this book pass you by as it holds something for everyone within it's covers!
Rating:
Summary: An Honest, Open-hearted, First-hand Account...
Review: In '78, I was a young collector turned animation nut (and I have been in the business since). I visited the Disney Studios at the time described in Ms. Guedel's book, and I just had no idea what went on... I do now. The Disney Studio was an animation studio - like my own - with Originals, Characters, Intrigues, Affairs. At last we get a personal insight into a period that seems to have been forcefully obliterated from Disney history, after the departure of "The Bluth Gang" (as the Disney people called them). Though the Disney period is not a large part of the book, it is well worth the price of purchase just for that, already. A more honest account I have yet to see...
Rating:
Summary: A Window into the Heart and Mind of an Artist
Review: Many years ago I read The Agony and the Ecstasy, about Vincent Van Gogh. I've also read the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (a respected sculptor in ancient Rome). I find the psyche and intellect of an artistic person fascinating. This relatively unknown, independantly published autobiography of a Disney Animator has captivated me. Not many female artists have risen to this level of achievement - as both an artist and a writer. I consider this woman to be as gifted a writer as she is an artist. She has created crystal clear imagery with her words. I am struggling to offer something in my review that has not already been said, many times over, but it is difficult to avoid repeating (after so many other reviewers) that I could not put this book down! The depth and honesty is both refreshing and astonishing in its ability to touch me... to make me feel and see what this author experienced. The various people in her life are multi-dimensional when she describes them. Even the parent figures who neglected and abused her are described with objective depth and poignant comprehension - like her step-father, whose appreciation for things of beauty (like roses, or star-sapphires) stood in such contrast to his frightening propensity for violence. This book is ARTFUL... it is passionate... it is vulnerable and honest. And I believe that it has not been 'sanitized' by a commercially motivated professional editor. These are Heidi Guedel's REAL words -- a gem of a book that has not had the life chiseled out of it by the traditional, commercial publishing system. Self-publishing can often produce mediocrity... but it can also allow untrammelled brilliance to slip through and make it to the marketplace. If you enjoy learning about gifted people and their most personal, heartfelt, passionate thoughts... their deepest motivations, and entertaining life experiences, don't miss this book. It's a winner.
Rating:
Summary: A Window into the Heart and Mind of an Artist
Review: Many years ago I read The Agony and the Ecstasy, about Vincent Van Gogh. I've also read the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (a respected sculptor in ancient Rome). I find the psyche and intellect of an artistic person fascinating. This relatively unknown, independantly published autobiography of a Disney Animator has captivated me. Not many female artists have risen to this level of achievement - as both an artist and a writer. I consider this woman to be as gifted a writer as she is an artist. She has created crystal clear imagery with her words. I am struggling to offer something in my review that has not already been said, many times over, but it is difficult to avoid repeating (after so many other reviewers) that I could not put this book down! The depth and honesty is both refreshing and astonishing in its ability to touch me... to make me feel and see what this author experienced. The various people in her life are multi-dimensional when she describes them. Even the parent figures who neglected and abused her are described with objective depth and poignant comprehension - like her step-father, whose appreciation for things of beauty (like roses, or star-sapphires) stood in such contrast to his frightening propensity for violence. This book is ARTFUL... it is passionate... it is vulnerable and honest. And I believe that it has not been 'sanitized' by a commercially motivated professional editor. These are Heidi Guedel's REAL words -- a gem of a book that has not had the life chiseled out of it by the traditional, commercial publishing system. Self-publishing can often produce mediocrity... but it can also allow untrammelled brilliance to slip through and make it to the marketplace. If you enjoy learning about gifted people and their most personal, heartfelt, passionate thoughts... their deepest motivations, and entertaining life experiences, don't miss this book. It's a winner.
Rating: 
Summary: Recommended to all Disney EchoEars & Disney Fans!
Review: The recounting of the lack of love she was given as a child and the child abuse she received instead is heartbreaking to read, but hers is a true life adventure in how she was able to rise above that to become a professional Disney animator who worked with Don Bluth, Ollie Johnston, and after that for Warner Brothers. She was a child of the 50s, born to a show business father. Although she grew up in Beverly Hills, California, where you would think life would be rosy, her home life stood in sharp contrast to the idyllic life shown on TV shows of that era, such as "Leave It To Beaver" and "Father Knows Best." In fact, her father produced Art Linkletter's "House Party" and Heidi grew up surrounded with TV and movie stars throughout her young life. I found myself unable to stop reading the book, as it detailed her rebellion at the way she was being treated. It was the wee hours of the morning before I had to stop at page 85. After getting a few hours of sleep I resumed reading the book the next morning -- and finished the book. Heidi is not bitter in her writing about the events that happened in her life, and often shares the fun and funny things that happened. Eventually she found adults who cared for her better than her parents, and found love and good role models that she emulated. Heidi blossomed in art school and when on to work for Disney as an animator (or "animatrix" as she refers to a female animator). She lets us in on the hilarious pranks and practical jokes she and others took part in behind the scenes at the Disney Studios -- the retelling of Ward Kimball's bathroom prank is classic and one you'll certainly enjoy. I highly recommend Heidi's book to you -- just as I have to all on the Disney Echo -- but just a note that the child abuse she received when she was a child is very sad to read. However, it is uplifting to see how she overcame that and brought herself to success both as a person and a professional animator.
Rating:
Summary: I Was There...!
Review: This book has it all. Great photos, delightful drawings and a story that had me up late at night turning pages. I was there. I worked at Disney, but I did not know the emotional detail or the heartbreaking history of a young woman climbing up out of the broken beginnings of her life. The humor sears like a blow torch! Wait till you see the drawing of her step mother.....! It's better than Cruella Devill. Working at Disney in those days was definately a world apart. Ms. Guedel brings it all to life.
Rating:
Summary: Just a wonderful book
Review: This book is one of those outstanding little secrets that is gaining ground a little bit at a time... just from its reputation among the readers. Like everyone else keeps saying, I could not put it down until the last page. After reading this book, I feel like I really know and care about Heidi Guedel. Her story is powerful, vulnerable, open-hearted, honest, and thought provoking. In addition, she just writes beautifully. The descriptions of people and circumstances are vivid and interesting. The writing just flows... nothing hangs you up while you are reading. The sentences have a kind of rhythm that varies in a beautiful way and keeps you alert while you read. This takes real talent. I recommend it very highly to anyone who is interested in unusual people, animation, womens' issues, childrens' issues, and what it was like to work at Disney studios at a time when they were trying to train new people to replace Walt Disney's "nine old men". Most of these original Disney Animators were still alive at the time, and Ms Guedel met and worked with several of the most famous Animators who ever lived. This life story is an amazing saga of determination, positive thinking and inner strength. I just loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Just a wonderful book
Review: This book is one of those outstanding little secrets that is gaining ground a little bit at a time... just from its reputation among the readers. Like everyone else keeps saying, I could not put it down until the last page. After reading this book, I feel like I really know and care about Heidi Guedel. Her story is powerful, vulnerable, open-hearted, honest, and thought provoking. In addition, she just writes beautifully. The descriptions of people and circumstances are vivid and interesting. The writing just flows... nothing hangs you up while you are reading. The sentences have a kind of rhythm that varies in a beautiful way and keeps you alert while you read. This takes real talent. I recommend it very highly to anyone who is interested in unusual people, animation, womens' issues, childrens' issues, and what it was like to work at Disney studios at a time when they were trying to train new people to replace Walt Disney's "nine old men". Most of these original Disney Animators were still alive at the time, and Ms Guedel met and worked with several of the most famous Animators who ever lived. This life story is an amazing saga of determination, positive thinking and inner strength. I just loved it!
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