The Journey of Natty Gann
The Journey of Natty Gann | |
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![]() Promotional poster | |
Directed by | Jeremy Kagan |
Produced by | Michael Lobell |
Written by |
Andrew Bergman Jeanne Rosenberg |
Starring | |
Music by |
James Horner Elmer Bernstein (uncredited score withdrawn) |
Cinematography | Dick Bush |
Edited by |
David Holden Steven Rosenblum |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $9.7 million (U.S. and Canada only)[1] |
The Journey of Natty Gann is a 1985 American film directed by Jeremy Paul Kagan, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and released by Buena Vista Distribution.[2][3] The film introduced Meredith Salenger and also starred John Cusack, Lainie Kazan and Ray Wise.
Plot
Set in 1935, the movie tells the story of a 15-year-old tomboy girl, Natty Gann (Meredith Salenger). Out of work because of Depression-era unemployment, Natty's widowed father (Ray Wise) parlays his surefootedness into getting a job as a lumberjack. In order to get hired, he travels from Chicago to the state of Washington. He tells Natty that she will have to look after herself for the time being. 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 saves a wolfdog from a dog fighting ring. In return the dog, whom she calls Wolf, follows her as her protector in her attempt to return to her Father. She has a brief, innocent romance with another young traveler (John Cusack), and encounters various obstacles that test her courage, perseverance, and ingenuity, such as being falsely accused of cattle rustling and remanded to a juvenile facility. Natty escapes the detention center and is aided by a mountain man, who spirits her out of the area and gives her some money.
Connie tells Natty's father on the phone that she ran away, causing him to worry. He becomes grief-stricken when he learns that Natty's wallet was found underneath a derailed train - unbeknownst to him, she lived through the crash when she stowed away on it during part of her journey. He leaves the lumber company to search through the wreckage for her, to no avail. He returns to the lumber camp and accepts the most dangerous jobs, known as "widow's work" on the basis that his daughter has died and he should throw himself into his work.
Locating her father's company's base-camp, Natty eventually finds and reunites with her father in a heartwarming embrace on a mountain road. Afterwards, she lets Wolf go to answer the call of the other wolves that are free.
Cast
- Meredith Salenger as Natty Gann
- John Cusack as Harry
- Ray Wise as Sol Gann
- Lainie Kazan as Connie
- Scatman Crothers as Sherman
- Verna Bloom as Farm Woman
- John P. Finnegan as Logging Boss
- Garry Chalk as Chicago Worker
- Frank C. Turner as Farmer
- Gabrielle Rose as Exercise Matron
- Don S. Davis as Railroad Brakeman
- Alek Diakun as Station Master
- Grant Heslov as member of Parker's Gang
- Bruce M. Fischer as Charlie Linfield
- Jed as Wolf. Jed later appeared as the title animal in the 1991 Disney film White Fang. He also appeared as the first form taken by the alien creature in The Thing (1982).
Location
One of the filmings on the BC Rail, known as the British Columbia Railway formerly the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) before 1972, between Pemberton & Lillooet is ranked as one of the top 10 most-scenic rail journeys in the world.[4]
Home media
The film has been released in the United States on VHS as well as DVD. The DVD version was released using the pan and scan format.[5][6] The title was also made available for streaming and download in SD and HD versions (without pan and scan).[7][8]
Reception
The movie has gained universally positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 100%, based on 14 reviews, with a rating average of 7/10.[9] Critics praised the actors' performances and the film's portrayal of Depression-era life, while lamenting its pace and level of sentimentality.[10][11][12]
Accolades
At the Young Artist Awards, Salenger won for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film, and the film itself was nominated for Best Family Motion Picture (Drama).[13] Albert Wolsky's costume design received an Academy Award nomination.[14]
Music
Elmer Bernstein originally scored the picture, having to rewrite much of his material in the process; ultimately most of his music was replaced with a new score by James Horner.[15] Both scores were released on compact disc – Bernstein's in 2008 as part of a four-disc set of rejected scores by Varese Sarabande (also including Gangs Of New York and The Scarlet Letter) and Horner's in 2009 by Intrada Records.
References
- ↑ Box Office Mojo: The Journey of Natty Gann
- ↑ LA Times: A Test Case For The Family Film October 19, 1985
- ↑ Team Disney--flying High In Burbank July 28, 1985
- ↑ "The Pacific Great Eastern Railway". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ↑ Amazon: The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)
- ↑ The Journey of Natty Gann DVD Review
- ↑ Can I Stream it?: The Journey of Natty Gann
- ↑ Disney Movies Anywhere: The Journey of Natty Gann
- ↑ "The Journey of Natty Gann". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
- ↑ LA Times: Movie Review : Grimness Of Heart In 'Natty Gann' Saga October 11, 1985
- ↑ New York Times: FILM: TALE OF RUNAWAY, 'JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN January 17, 1986
- ↑ Variety-Review: “The Journey of Natty Gann” December 31, 1984
- ↑ "Seventh Annual Youth in Film Awards 1984-1985"
- ↑ "The 58th Academy Awards (1986) Nominees and Winners." Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- ↑ Christian Clemmensen. "Filmtracks: The Journey of Natty Gann". Filmtracks. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
External links
- Official website
- The Journey of Natty Gann at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Journey of Natty Gann at the Internet Movie Database
- The Journey of Natty Gann at the TCM Movie Database
- The Journey of Natty Gann at AllMovie