The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)

In the 1930s, a tomboyish girl runs away from her guardian to join her single father who is 2,000 miles away, because there was work there.

Director:

Jeremy Kagan

Writer:

Jeanne Rosenberg

Stars:

Meredith Salenger, John Cusack, Ray Wise

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meredith Salenger	...	Natty Gann
John Cusack	...	Harry
Ray Wise	...	Sol Gann
Lainie Kazan	...	Connie
Scatman Crothers	...	Sherman
Barry Miller	...	Parker
Verna Bloom	...	Farm Woman
Bruce M. Fischer	...	Charlie Linfield
John Finnegan	...	Logging Boss
Jack Rader	...	Employment Agent
Matthew Faison	...	Buzz
Jordan Pratt	...	Frankie
Zachary Ansley	...	Louie
Campbell Lane	...	Chicago Moderator
Max Trumpower	...	Chicago Worker

Storyline

Natty Gann (played by Meredith Salenger) is a twelve year old Depression era girl whose single-parent father leaves her behind in Chicago while he goes to Washington State to look for work in the timber industry. Natty runs away from the guardian she was left with to follow Dad. She befriends and is befriended by a wolf that has been abused in dog fights, hops a freight train west, and is presumed dead when her wallet is found after the train crashes. Dad gets bitter and endangers himself in his new job. Meanwhile Natty has a series of adventures and mis- adventures in various farmhouses, police stations, hobo camps, reform schools, and boxcars.

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Plot Keywords:

girl | train | wallet | single father | fight | 

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Taglines:

Her name is Natty Gann. Two thousand miles of danger separate her from her father. Only love, hope and courage can help her find him.

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Genres:

Family | Adventure

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Natty Gann

Filming Locations:

Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,135,577

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Silver Screen Partners II

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (as Dolby Stereo®)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First credited cinema movie appearance of actress Meredith Salenger.

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Goofs

The story takes place in 1935, but in the scene where Natty finds the puppy behind the cinema, the movie poster behind her is for "The Buccaneer" (the name of the film star, Fredric March, can be seen in the close up), which was released in 1938.

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Quotes

Harry: [Harry has just hauled Natty into the boxcar, where she was dangling dangerously over the edge] You know, uh, you can get hurt that way.
Hobo: I thought *that* one was a goner.
Hobo: *Rail* meat.
Hobo: Little bits of blood and busted...
Harry: Leave the kid alone!

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Connections

Referenced in Starlight Hotel (1987)

User Reviews

A heartwarming classic

If you haven't seen this yet, go rent it. A heartwarming account of a young girl making her way across the country to get back to her father during the depression. One of the earlier reviews was talking about how all of the bad things that happen to Natty are inappropriate for a disney movie, but I think that those are the things that make this film so great. It is a gritty, realistic, non sugar coated story. The things that are shown to happen to Natty happen every day and have been for many many years. They bring drama and "heart" to the film, and make it what it is. Combine the latter with unbelievable cinematography of America, very good performances, and you are left with a very memorable, timeless film. I only wish that Disney would release it on DVD in widescreen. With such great widescreen nature cinematography, having to repeatedly watch the "chopped up" pan and scan version on vhs is killing me!! If you release it we will buy it!!!