Movie · 1985 · Adventure, Family, Drama · 1h 41m · PG · English
Curator score: 4.3/10 (12.9K ratings)
The journey that made the impossible come true.
Overview
America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. A courageous young girl confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country search for her father. During her odyssey, she forms a close bond with two diverse traveling companions: a magnificent, protective wolf, and a hardened drifter.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.3/10
IMDb: 7.0/10
Letterboxd: 3.36/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Metacritic: 66
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Jeremy Kagan
Production
Walt Disney Pictures, Lobell/Bergman Productions, Silver Screen Partners II
Cast
Meredith Salenger, John Cusack, Ray Wise, Lainie Kazan, Scatman Crothers, Barry Miller, Verna Bloom, Bruce M. Fischer, John Finnegan, Jack Rader, Matthew Faison, Jordan Pratt, Zachary Ansley, Campbell Lane, Max Trumpower, Doug MacLeod, Garry Chalk, Dwight McFee, Peter Anderson, Corliss M. Smith Jr.
Where to watch
Disney Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A sturdy, old-fashioned family adventure with real atmosphere, strong production values, and a memorable animal companion, but it’s also uneven, occasionally bleak, and a bit thin in character development. It’s best appreciated as a heartfelt 1980s Disney road movie with grit rather than as a fully polished classic.
Best for
fans of 1980s live-action Disney
viewers who like survival road movies
animal-companion stories
coming-of-age adventures with some darkness
people nostalgic for Depression-era Americana
Skip if
you want a fast-paced plot
you prefer light, purely cheerful family films
you’re sensitive to uneven writing or predictability
you want a major role for John Cusack
you dislike movies that mix warmth with harsh realism
Overview
The Journey of Natty Gann is one of those mid-80s Disney films that reaches for something rougher and more human than the studio’s usual family fare. Set against the Great Depression, it gives its young heroine a genuine sense of danger and loneliness, while the cross-country structure keeps the movie moving through rail yards, labor camps, and wide-open American landscapes. The film’s strongest asset is its mood: dusty, melancholy, and strangely tender.
Worth noting
Meredith Salenger carries the movie well, and the wolf is the kind of screen presence that can make an entire generation remember a film more fondly than its script perhaps deserves. There’s also a nice supporting turn from John Cusack, though the movie doesn’t use him as much as the marketing suggests. The result is charming, but a little patchy, with some abrupt storytelling and a few elements that feel dated by modern standards.
Bottom line
Still, it has a sincerity that goes a long way. If you like family adventure films that don’t sand off every rough edge, this is an appealing rediscovery: part road movie, part survival tale, part wistful Depression-era fable. It’s not a forgotten masterpiece, but it is an underrated one.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Alice (4★) · 88 likes
Officially finished the filmography of Jed the acting wolf.
megan (3★) · 78 likes
not enough john cusack
Daryl (3.5★) · 66 likes
The Journey of Natty Gunn is a charming, heartfelt road movie with incredible music from James Horner. A film that is pretty bleak at times, and would never be made today, however, it's an underrated gem with excellent production values, a strong story and a talented cast.
DreamScape40 (3.5★) · 48 likes
Got in 18 /20 minutes of "Hold the Dark" and just - AWKWARDThen I selected "Results" and 10 minutes in I was annoyed with Cobie Smulders character.
Decided to go with this oldie, a film I've not seen since I was a little. Only remember the bits with Meredith Salenger and John Cusack. I'm surprised that John has a short role in this. The wolf had more screen time. Which I'm not complaining. Jed (wolf) is so beautiful.Ray… more
1988 · Adventure, Drama, Family · 1h 37m · PG · Curator 7.1/10 (37.7K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Night Flight Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A beautiful, dialogue-light animal story that emphasizes survival and empathy.