Please don't spend money on this.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

My father wrote this script in 1982 and pitched it to a development executive at Disney. In his version, most of the story was the same, with the difference that the girl who dressed as a boy and rode the boxcars in the 1930s was running away from her father, not to him.I have read the original script my father pitched to Disney and it is virtually the same, just less Disney (no dog, for example).If you check out the screenwriter, Jeanne Rosenberg, you will see she specializes in sequels and adaptations. This was NOT her original work, and I challenge her to claim it was (I have nothing against her - I am confident she was simply given the basic plot and told to write the screenplay, and accuse her of nothing that could be construed as unethical).It was my father's great misfortune to have had this happen in the days when no L.A. lawyer in his/her right mind would sue the Walt Disney Corporation. That has since changed, but 25 years ago it was universally understood that taking Disney to court was an exercise in futility.Check my father out on IMDb: Bert Brown. He's a legitimate producer, not some crackpot with a grudge, and has no idea I am posting this message. I hope someone can put me in touch with Jeanne Rosenberg or the development exec. who headed up this film in order to set the record straight.email: [email protected]

THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN This was in the back of my video cabinet and I haven't watched it since I was a child. NATTY GANN is a rather unknown Disney release from 1985 that takes places in the '30's. Natty Gann is a young girl living with just her father in a bleak time. She is rough around the edges and has clearly built up a crocodile skin due to the life she has led. However, at her core, she truly loves her father.So when he is forced to leave her at a moment's notice to travel to Washington (the only place he can find work) Natty is left in the care of a bitter Landlord. It doesn't take long for Natty, played by Meredith Salenger, to runaway in an attempt to travel the 2,000 miles to be with her father again.On her journey, Natty meets all kinds of people who are suffering due to the nation's economic situation. One thing she witnesses is a dogfight where one of the dog's is a rather wild wolf. Natty reaches out for the wolf though and eventually manages to establish a bond with the wild animal. Together, they continue to travel towards her Washington State in pursuit of Natty's father.As the plot description above makes clear, the framework of this film is not horribly unique or important. However, what does give the film some extra quality is the approach in which the material is taken on.This film is very much in the same vein as another under-appreciatted Disney classic, RETURN TO OZ. This is a very dark family film that lacks all of the standard, corny Disney clichés (aside from the animal friend, but here he doesn't talk... and he isn't particularly nice at first).THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN portrays the depression-era and it's effects on the poor very honestly. We see Natty eating out of garbage pales and sleeping in filth. We see the type of work her father is forced to take on. And we see the bitterness and resentment Natty feels towards her situation.She is not your typical "hopelessly-optimistic" Disney heroine. She gets angry, she defends herself, and she doesn't make excuses. She starts fight, even smokes what appears to be weed in the opening scene (this was something I certainly didn't notice as a child). However, the role of Natty is always grounded by an appealing and fully realized performance from the young Meredith Salenger. She hasn't found much success in film following this movie, but it is definitely one of the best child performances of the 80's.Now aside from the good qualities of the film, THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN moves a little too slow for me to really love it. Despite the many Disney clichés it avoids, it's still always obvious Natty will find her father and all will be happy. So the fact that it takes 105 minutes to do so is a bit much. And there is a supporting role / love interest played by John Cusack who is essentially useless to the plot.But Disney deserves some credit for boldly taking family films to a darker, more artistically developed place in 1985 (both RETURN TO OZ and NATTY GANN were released in that year). There haven't been children's films that really embrace the darker side of things like these 2 films do since '85... and these under-viewed films deserve a little more credit and public acknowledgment for looking outside of the lines in a genre that is too often trapped within the lines.... B- ...

What a wonderful film. Although I first saw this film when I was probably six years old, it has stuck with me as an inspiration, and set a standard that very few movies live up to. The love story between Natty and Harry is so romantic, and the independent spirit of a young girl was rare in movies back then and is still rare now. This is an overlooked film that has always filled me with that feeling of secret magic, that there can be movies and stories like this, and that a young girl can make it on her own. It's interesting to see that it was nominated for an Oscar. Also this was probably the first time I saw John Cusak in anything (although still my favorite film of his is "Better Off Dead"). Meredith Salenger was excellent as Natty.

This haunting and delightful film - intended for children but equally compelling for adults - tells the story of Natty Gann, a brave and resourceful young girl who traipses across Depression-era America to find her only relative, her long-lost dad. If that sounds depressing then think again. This is a gem of a film. It has Meredith Salenger in the lead role displaying a warmth and maturity to carry a role that may easily have overwhelmed a less gifted actress. How on earth she hasn't become a big star is completely beyond me. Offering commendable support is John Cusack as the older boy and drifter she befriends on her journey. Children's films so often tend to lean towards sentiment or easy endings but this uncompromising film, and yes, the language gets a little colourful at times but so what, has a depth to it that makes you root for the heroine to the very end. Natty Gann is simply a wonderful film for young and old alike.