Set in Chicago during the depression of 1935 it follows the adventures of the courageous young Natalie Gann. Read more
| Starring | Meredith Salenger, John Cusack, Ray Wise |
|---|---|
| Director | Jeremy Paul Kagan |
| Genres | Children, Drama |
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Set in Chicago during the depression of 1935 it follows the adventures of the courageous young Natalie Gann.
| Starring | Meredith Salenger, John Cusack, Ray Wise |
|---|---|
| Director | Jeremy Paul Kagan |
| Studio | WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 37 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Children, Drama |
| Language | English |
| Released | DVD: 19 Apr 2004 Production year: 1984 |
| Format | DVD |
Set during the Depression, this Disney road movie is a kind of Homeward Bound: the Incredible Journey with people. Meredith Salenger is so good in the role of the 14-year-old who walks 2,000 miles in search of her lumberjack father that it beggars belief that she hasn't gone on to become a major star. John Cusack did progress to bigger things and he also impresses here, as a drifter convinced the open road is no place for a girl. But when you've got a wolf as a bodyguard… There's plenty of action, but the film scores best for its depiction of the hardships many children were forced to face in the 1930s.
A kind of human Lassie Come Home: doggedly watchable but not inspiring, especially since it was shot in Canada.
When Natty's father Sol(Ray Wise) is offered a job in a logging camp in Washington, he is only given a few hours to come to a decision, either take the job and leave Natty behind, or stay in Chicago with Natty and hopefully find work elsewhere. At first, rejecting the job offer, he steps out into the Chicago streets. In a truly remarkable scene, we see as Sol does, the faces of all those who have lost hope and been beaten down in despair. It is after this brief but telling moment that he realizes, as we do, there is no decision to be made and Sol accepts the work in Seattle. Sol is forced to leave Natty in the care of a boarding house owner Connie(Lainie Kazan). After Natty overhears Connie reporting her as an abandoned child, she decides not to wait for her father to send for her, and begins an arduous journey across country to find him.
Warm, moving human drama.
The cinema at its best.
Disney does not mean it is for kids alone. It's for real people too.