Simply Crispy (of the damn dancing clock and a certain Phoenix look-alike fame) decided to have a write-off. Stranger still, he decided to invite me. It’s the Expunged from their CV write-off, and while I’m not sure I’m hip to that title, the idea is that you review movies in which people who ‘went on to bigger and better things’ have not so grand roles, or something along those lines at any rate.

Being that Simply Crispy is so cool (well, of course, I’ve never met him so who knows, and besides I’m probably a bit of a sci-fi geek, so he has something of a contract out on me... which isn’t particularly cool from my perspective), and/or because the idea of the write-off sparked a certain particular something in me, I’m going to ‘enter’ the write-off several times.




You’d be surprised (you really would) how often I manage to engage in serious arguments about Walt Disney and/or the Disney Corporation. The arguments, basically (my side anyway), being that there is really no one at Disney today who has the slightest idea what Walt was about. The first movie I’m going to review for this write-off, and they’re all Disney movies (just for my own particular shtick) is ‘The Journey of Natty Gann’. I picked this one, because it has a very distinctive place (in my mind) in the world of Disney. It marks, I think, the last hopes that Disney might make decent movies.

Now sure, some people like a lot of the recent animated Disney movies. I think they’re all garbage, but a lot of people like them. ‘Atlantis’, for example, the curious combination of an ‘idiot-genius goofball saves the day’ movie crossed with a homicidal maniac slaughter-fest. Seriously, who was this movie for? Animated films being what they may, I’m really talking about live-action films.

We used to get some serious adventures, comedic wild rides, and a wide array of movies aimed at children or the whole family that explored a lot of different areas of life, and/or were just great, goofy fun. We used to get things like ‘Davy Crockett’, the Benji movies, the Herbie movies, the Witch Mountain movies, ‘Follow Me, Boys!’, ‘The Incredible Journey’, and too many other to mention, including, closer to the last days, ‘Dragonslayer’. We also had Dean Jones and Fred MacMurray waiting in the wings for whatever we might want them in.

What have we gotten from Disney after this date (1985) that I mark as the real end? ‘Air Bud’ and several sequels, ‘The Mighty Ducks’ and sequels, ‘The Country Bears’, ‘George of the Jungle’, ‘The Santa Clause’, and on and on.

So, that’s my story on Disney, and basically, my view that continuing to lap up Disney ‘stuff’ just because Disney was once really great is sort of like only buying Fords just because they once made really great cars (not that Fords are no good now, but assuming they were, you see?). Disney’s over, let’s move on.





I wish I could say that I was reviewing ‘The Journey of Natty Gann’ because Meredith Salenger went on to bigger and better things, but unfortunately, that isn’t really the case. She has continued to work, and there is some hope that a couple recent things will at least get people to look at her, but she hasn’t been in much interesting. Her main claim to fame being ‘Dream a Little Dream’.

No, this one is for John Cusack. Sure, he’d already been in ‘Class’, ‘Sixteen Candles’, and the breakthrough role of his own particular character ‘The Sure Thing’ (later in 㣹 solidified by ‘Better Off Dead’), but people don’t seem to remember this one. Actually, not many people remember him as being in ‘Stand By Me’ either, but at least they remember ‘Stand By Me’ in itself.




Natty Gann is a tomboy of thirteen living in the mid-1930s. She lives with her father (Ray Wise), her mother having passed away, and times are very hard. One day, Natty’s father is offered a job (jobs are awfully scarce) with a logging company. Unfortunately, the job is on the other side of the country, and he only has a few hours to decide if he wants it, and get on the bus. He can’t find Natty anywhere, and has to leave without seeing her.

Natty comes home to find that her father has gone, and she has been left in the care of the boarding house’s landlady. Pretty obviously, this turns out to be a bad situation, and Natty soon runs away with the idea of making it to her father. And the adventure begins.

Natty runs into all manner of adventures, gets a quick glimpse of Harry (John Cusack) when she ‘hobos’ a ride on a freight train, and before long stumbles onto a pit-style dog fight. The winner, a wolf, manages to escape (with a little help from Natty), and thus Natty gains a traveling companion.

Natty later joins in with a ‘gang’ of other homeless children which leads to more scrapes and squabbles, but manages to move us along until Natty runs into Harry again, and thus Natty gains a traveling companion.


You can, I suspect, see where the whole things going. At one point, Natty’s father gets word that Natty’s wallet was found in the wreckage of a train that derailed and, of course, thinks the worst. It’s not a movie about serious suspense.

It is a movie about some adventure, though it’s not for the youngest of the kiddies, and about a girl managing to survive (even if she does run funny) on her own (mostly).



The story is actually surprisingly good. It harkens back to the days when Disney could do your utterly sappy movie without the viewer having to wipe it all off at the end. It’s quite ‘real’, but of course, in the family movie sort of way. The abundance of quick, ‘in and out’ adventures Natty experiences give the movie a chance to ‘say things’ without becoming a commercial, or trying to otherwise ram anything down your throat. Natty gets a chance to learn a lot about people, and life, without becoming a cliche. And, it’s a quite entertaining watch. There is, I will admit, a little bit ‘too much’. Everything seems to happen on the one journey, and the movie may have overdone things on that score. Still, it’s not too much of a problem.


Meredith Salanger, especially for a very young actress, is excellent. She manages to deliver, and no small trick it is, the wide array of emotions that are required for the role. Occasionally, a line or two is delivered in a way that is a bit off, but it doesn’t hurt the overall effect. Her Natty is quite believable as a young girl thrown out into the world, and her reactions are perfectly suited to her street-wise, independent, but obviously rather-naive-in-the-big-picture character.

John Cusack shows us a bit of the even better things he might have gone onto had he not become so tied to (and recognized as) the character he played in ‘The Sure Thing’, ‘Better Off Dead’, ‘One Crazy Summer’, and ‘main-streamed’ slightly for ‘Say Anything’. The Cusack here, though young, is the Cusack of ‘Eight Men Out’ and ‘The Jack Bull’. He is, going back now, fun to watch in ‘The Journey of Natty Gann’, because he is actually quite good. Now, I’m a fan in general, but not particularly because he’s often exhibiting serious acting skill. Usually, he’s just incredibly watchable.



Director Jeremy Kagan might also count for the write-off requirements. He had already done a lot of work, but nothing spectacular. His direction here is passable, but what can you expect really? He did, shortly after this movie, turn his attention to directing television, where he put together a few shows you might recognize. ‘Picket Fences’, ‘Chicago Hope’, ‘Ally McBeal’, ‘Family Law’, and ‘The West Wing’.



With the proper genre in mind (semi-serious-minded family movies that aren’t exactly ‘pretty’ in the issues they deal with) ‘The Journey of Natty Gann’ is excellent and I could hardly recommend it more. Surely, it’s not Oscar material, but what old Disney live-action movie was? Well, by today’s standards.

It also has a fine, strong heroine in the lead. Something, unfortunately, that doesn’t exactly spill-over from the video shelves.

If you haven’t seen it yet, try and get your hands on a copy of one of the last good movies you’re going to get from Disney.







As stated, this is an entry in Simply Crispy’s write-off of the strange name. He didn’t bother sending a list of people in the write-off (yet), so if I miss anyone it’s his fault. Also, it’s not really until November 11th, so more may join. But, since I’m hopefully going to ‘enter’ three or four more times, I’m starting early.

Participants, as far as I know, are:

artbyjude, BigJack, brodieman, d_fienberg, jankp, Lynus, Macresarf1, mfunk75, MrsNormanMaine, tjmackey, Weirdo87, xxxxer, and maybe fumbduck, and psychovant.


For more information visit Simply Crispy’s profile page. There’s still time to join as well!

Recommended:
Yes