THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN. Directed by Jeremy Kagan; written by Jeanne Rosenberg; produced by Mike Lobell for Walt Disney Pictures. Starring Meredith Salenger, Ray Wise and John Cusack. Rated PG (language).
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Natty Gann is a typical Disney adventure movie. And then again, it isn't. The gritty realism of its production design gives it quite a different look from, say, Swiss Family Robinson.
And the dialogue here includes a liberal use of off-color language. Granted, the language is only mildly vulgar by today's movie standards. But compared to "typical Disney," it's pretty raw. Some parents might not appreciate this fact if they expect every movie with the Disney stamp to be super squeaky clean.
But the similarities Natty Gann shares with movies such as Old Yeller, etc., are more important than these differences. It has a sentimental, superficial and not very realistic plot that is still somehow affecting. And the central position of children and animals is a Disney mainstay.
The movie is set in 1935, when the problem of getting and keeping a job was a major one for most adult Americans. Motherless Natty (Salenger) is a teenager whose father, Sol (Wise), is no exception. Rather unbelievably, since he seems like a good, caring father, Sol abruptly leaves Chicago for a job in Washington state. He leaves Natty in the less than capable and completely insensitive charge of their landlady (Lainie Kazan plays this unlikable character very well).
It doesn't take Natty long to get her fill of the landlady. Armed only with her pluck, her wits and a vague idea of Sol's whereabouts, the girl sets out to find him.
She has many adventures on her cross-country trek. Most of them are more or less predictable, and a few are irrelevant. But there are some surprises and some exciting moments, too.
Newcomer Salenger is cute and spunky and handles the role of Natty well. Wise is also good as her father—although he's best in their scenes together, and there aren't enough of those.
Natty acquires another companion along the road, however, who's at least as interesting as her dad—and probably even better protection. She befriends and is adopted by a wolf who has escaped from a dogfight ring. His transformation from ferocious killer to devoted sidekick comes a little too quickly, but they make a good pair. Besides, kids and dogs (or their close relatives, like teenagers and wolves) are what the Disney magic is all about, right?
And kids of all ages, less apt than I am to quibble over plot absurdities, will enjoy Natty Gann. My five-year-old's favorite scenes were those with the wolf. And there's a little discreet romance between Natty and a drifter (Cusack) for the older set.
Natty's gender is also a plus for the movie, since there are so few girls who are main figures onscreen. When girls are in kids' movies at all they're usually only sidekicks or junior bimbos. They rarely get to have exciting adventures on their own. But Natty does. That's reason enough to recommend Natty Gann.
November 6, 1985