{"id":11170,"date":"2010-06-16T14:38:10","date_gmt":"2010-06-16T21:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11170"},"modified":"2023-09-21T20:41:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T03:41:11","slug":"journey-of-natty-gann-the-1985","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11170","title":{"rendered":"Journey of Natty Gann, The (1985)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You&#8217;ve got no business being on the road, kid.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Journey-of-Natty-Gann-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Journey-of-Natty-Gann-Poster-197x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-55909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Journey-of-Natty-Gann-Poster-197x300.png 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Journey-of-Natty-Gann-Poster-672x1024.png 672w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Journey-of-Natty-Gann-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Journey-of-Natty-Gann-Poster-177x270.png 177w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/Journey-of-Natty-Gann-Poster.png 725w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nDuring the Depression, a motherless teen (Meredith Salenger) embarks on a journey to find her father (Ray Wise), who has gone to Seattle for a logging job.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Coming-of-Age<\/li>\n<li>Depression Era<\/li>\n<li>Pets<\/li>\n<li>Road Trip<\/li>\n<li>Search<\/li>\n<li>Verna Bloom Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThe opening line to Peary&#8217;s review of this live-action Disney feature is both intriguing and compelling: &#8220;Forget about art films for one night and gather the family for this enjoyable adventure movie&#8221;, he writes. Peary contends that while &#8220;nothing we see [in the film] is particularly surprising&#8221;, it&#8217;s nonetheless &#8220;well directed&#8221;, &#8220;intelligently scripted&#8221;, and &#8220;extremely well cast&#8221;, with Salenger&#8217;s &#8220;natural, very appealing delivery&#8221; making her plucky protagonist &#8220;easy to root for&#8221;. Peary&#8217;s assessment rings mostly true: despite being predictable and contrived at times &#8212; Natty&#8217;s relationship with a pet wolf, for instance, seems merely like an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1892\"><em>Never Cry Wolf<\/em> (1983)<\/a> &#8212; we quickly learn to care for Salenger&#8217;s Natty, and wish her luck as she struggles to reach her beloved dad (nicely played by Ray Wise). <\/p>\n<p>In addition, older kids and teens will benefit from seeing a depiction of life during the Depression that accurately portrays the extreme hardships suffered by employees (the film is pro-union) and their families, who were very often torn apart as Natty and her father are. And, just as I was starting to wonder if Disney wasn&#8217;t perhaps sugar-coating the dangers of an attractive teen like Natty traveling on her own across the country, she&#8217;s propositioned by an unsavory middle-aged driver, and must flee for safety. Indeed, <em>&#8230;Natty Gann<\/em> really isn&#8217;t suitable for younger kids, so be forewarned.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Those looking forward to seeing John Cusack in an early role (he plays Natty&#8217;s nominal love interest) should note that he&#8217;s not given much screen time; he shows up near the beginning, then disappears until the final half hour of the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Meredith Salenger as Natty<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/journey-natty-meredith.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/journey-natty-meredith.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11197\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine location cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/journey-natty-hardships.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/journey-natty-hardships.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11199\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>An effective depiction of Depression-era economic hardships<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/journey-natty-scenery.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/journey-natty-scenery.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11198\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s a worthy family film. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0089385\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1986\/01\/17\/movies\/film-tale-of-runaway-journey-of-natty-gann.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ultimatedisney.com\/nattygann.htm\">Ultimate Disney Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-journey-of-natty-gann\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve got no business being on the road, kid.&#8221; Synopsis: During the Depression, a motherless teen (Meredith Salenger) embarks on a journey to find her father (Ray Wise), who has gone to Seattle for a logging job. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Coming-of-Age Depression Era Pets Road Trip Search Verna Bloom Films Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: The opening line to Peary&#8217;s review of this live-action Disney feature is both intriguing and compelling: &#8220;Forget about art films for one night and&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11170\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11170"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91894,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11170\/revisions\/91894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}