Movie Type: Coming-of-Age, Family-Oriented Adventure
Themes: Man's Best Friend, Runaways
Main Cast: Meredith Salenger, John Cusack, Ray Wise, Scatman Crothers, Barry Miller
Release Year: 1985
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Disney's The Journey of Natty Gann stars Meredith Salenger in the title role. During the Depression, Natty's father (Ray Wise) takes a job in a Northwestern lumber camp, leaving his daughter behind in Chicago with the promise that he'll send for her when he's put together enough money. Unwilling to wait that long, Natty runs away from her guardian (Lainie Kazan) and hops a freight bound for her dad's camp. In addition to the human friends she accrues along the way, including vagabond John Cusack and tough-but-nice juvenile delinquent Barry Miller, Natty is protected on her journey by a friendly wolf (actually a dog, but you try training a wolf). Journey of Natty Gann stretches its "PG" rating as far as possible, but it's still safe and sane entertainment for the younger crowd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A family-oriented adventure, The Journey of Natty Gann follows the Disney formula, but does not let sentiment get in the way of a good story. Natty (Meredith Salenger) and her father, Saul Gann (Ray Wise), lovingly survive together in Depression-era Chicago, both fighting for the underdog. When he leaves for work out west, she goes out on her own to find him. Along the way, she befriends a lot of misfits and narrowly escapes the manipulative adults who try to catch her. Salenger plays Natty as quick and determined, fortunately not as a smart aleck or overly precocious. She is tough enough to eat a wild rabbit for food, but still cringes when she has to gut it with her pocket knife. Natty forges a bond with a wolf, who acts as her companion and protector. This relationship sometimes sinks into Disney mush territory, but overall, it makes narrative sense. Especially impressive is Harry (John Cusack), a kindred spirit who teaches Natty the art of riding the rails. With his Humphrey Bogart-style appearance and delivery, Cusack makes a perfect team with Salenger's Natty. For the most part, The Journey of Natty Gann is a coming-of-age tale that is rooted in Disney simplicity, but rare in its portrayal of a strong and gentle protagonist on a quest for family connection. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Lainie Kazan - Connie; Scott Andersen - Parker's Gang; Zachary Ansley - Louis; Ian Black - Hobo; Verna Bloom - Farm Woman; Gary Chalk - Chicago Worker; Alex Diakun - Station Master; Matthew Faison - Buzz; John Finnegan - Logging Boss; Bruce M. Fischer - Charlie Linfield; Thomas Heaton - Railroad Deek; Grant Heslov - Parker's Gang; John Hock; Campbell Lane - Chicago Moderator; Sheelah Megill - Lady at Mill; Ray Michal - Hobo; Jennifer Michas - Parker's Gang; Jordan Pratt - Frankie; Jack Rader - Employment Agent; Jeff Ramsey - Logging Driver; Gary Riley - Parker's Gang; Gabrielle Rose - Exercise Matron; Corliss M. Smith, Jr. - Bus Driver; Ian Tracey - Parker's Gang; Peter Anderson - Unemployed Worker; Don S. Davis - Railroad Brakeman; Stephen E. Miller - Guard; Frank C. Turner - Farmer; Hannah Cutrona - Twinky; Robert Clothier - Railroad Official; Wally Beeton - Logger; Doug Boyd - Logger; Bryan Couture - Logger; Kaye Grieve - Matron; Gary Hendrickson - Logger; Marie Klingenberg - Dormitory Matron; Lorne LaRiviere - Logger; Al MacIntosh - Logger; Doug MacLeod - Chicago Worker; Dwight McFee - Chicago Worker; Harvey M. Miller - Railroad Deek; Paula-Marie Moody; Clint Rowe - Bullwhip; Bob Storms - Logger; Max Trumpower - Chicago Worker; Hagan Beggs - Policeman; Wally Marsh - Interrogator; Jack Ackroyd - Grocery Clerk
Credit
Albert Wolsky - Costume Designer, Jeremy Kagan - Director, David Holden - Editor, Steven Rosenblum - Editor, James Horner - Composer (Music Score), Sandy Cooper - Makeup, Michael S. Bolton - Production Designer, Paul Sylbert - Production Designer, Ian Thomas - Production Designer, Dick Bush - Cinematographer, Michael Lobell - Producer, Jim Erickson - Set Designer, Andrew Bergman - Screenwriter, Jeanne Rosenberg - Screenwriter
The Journey of Natty Gann is an American movie that was released in 1985 and directed by Jeremy Paul Kagan.
Set in 1935, the movie tells the story of a young woman, Natty Gann (played by Meredith Salenger). Out of work because of Depression-era unemployment, Natty's father travels from Chicago to the state of Washington to find work in the timber industry, leaving tomboyish Natty behind. Having no mother, Natty is left in the care of Connie (Lainie Kazan), the insensitive woman who manages the hotel Natty and her father had been living in. After overhearing Connie reporting her as an abandoned child, Natty runs away to find her father on her own, embarking on a cross-country journey. Along the way she is befriended by a wolf who travels with her for much of her voyage, has a brief, innocent romance with another young traveler (John Cusack), and encounters various obstacles that test her courage, perseverance, and ingenuity.
The animal, Jed, who portrays the wolf befriended by Natty, later appeared as the title animal in White Fang. It also appeared as the first form taken by the alien creature in The Thing.
