The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)

Directed by Jeremy Kagan. Starring Meredith Salenger, Ray Wise, John Cusack, Lainie Kazan, John Finnegan, Barry Miller, Verna Bloom. [PG]

Desperate for work during the Depression, gutsy working-class Chicagoan Sol Gann (Wise) heads west to Washington for logging work, leaving his precocious tomboy daughter “Natty” (Salenger) behind with plans to send for her when he can afford it. But Natty isn’t the passive, patient sort, so when trouble comes her way, she sets off on an eventful cross-country journey with Cusack’s streetwise drifter and a cute but inexplicably-domesticated wolf as her sometimes companions. Pacing and plausibility issues aside, it’s an engaging and scenic adventure, handsomely mounted, sentimental but not sappy, an unpretentious crowd-pleaser with an amiably unpolished performance from newcomer Salenger as the headstrong heroine—no moping or mugging, emotions held internally. Plus, it’s not every day you see a Disney movie with fatal dogfights and attempted child rape! Grant Heslov also makes his film debut in a minor role; Scatman Crothers appears for a couple of minutes as a friendly vendor in his last onscreen film credit.

72/100