The Journey Of Natty Gann is a terrific Western-style adventure set in the 1930s. Twelve-year-old Natty Gann’s father (Ray Wise) has to find work away from home during the Depression, so he leaves Natty in Chicago with a guardian and heads to Washington State, looking for logging work. But Natty runs away and heads off to find her dad, along the way befriending an abused wolf (played by Jed, who also starred in the movie White Fang) and a young drifter named Harry (Cusack) and surviving such nightmares as a train crash (in which her father is told she has died) and a nasty orphanage
Featuring some stunning scenery (with British Columbia in Canada doubling for the western US) and a spunky central performance from Salenger, this is an interesting history lesson wrapped up in a coming-of-age story that should fascinate boys and girls and grown-ups alike. Darker than your average Disney family movie, this is a little gem.
Is The Journey Of Natty Gann suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
None, although younger viewers may be upset when Natty is on her own.
If you like this, why not try: Alaska, Fly Away Home, White Fang, A Far Off Place, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey,