Overrated

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Unforgettably undeniably Disney movie set in the 1930s, in which a 14-year-old girl (first lead major starring role of actress Meredith Salenger) travels across the country in search for her father (Ray Wise) who is 2,000 miles away, because there was work there . With the help of a wolf (stunningly portrayed by a dog called Jed) and a drifter (John Cusack) she goes out to the dangerous adventure . Gripped Chicago and along the way she is befriended by a half-breed dog she calls Wolf and other sympathetic characters . As she joins a roguish gang of young people (Grant Heslov , Barry Miller , among others) until she is detained at a reform school . Meantime , Natty gann has a series of misfortunes and mis- adventures in several farmhouses, orphanage , dog-fighting cages , police stations, and hobo camps . With innocence behind her and danger ahead, only courage and love were on her side . This is a journey that made the impossible come true . A touching and warming film about a tomboyish girl who runs away from her guardian to join her daddy who has gone to Washington state and only love, hope and courage can help her find him. A top-notch Disney-Silver Screen Partners representation of life during the Great Depression in which a girl runs thousand miles of danger separate her from her father. There's a return of the old values of Disney studio with this stirring tale of a brave teen who tough as any boy runs away from Depression until Washington state . Remaing cast is excellent as John Cusack as a young drifter for whom she feels the first moving of love . Support cast is pretty good such as Ray Wise , Scatman Crothers , Lainie Kazan , Verna Bloom , Barry Miller , Bruce Fisher , Ian Tracey and Grant Heslov . It packs a colorful and evocative cinematography by Dick Bush . The film got Oscar nominated in the Best Costume Design category for costume designer Albert Wolsky but lost out to Emi Wada for Akira Kurosawa's Ran . Special mention for the marvelous musical score by the great James Horner , he composes a a sentitive and emotive soundtrack . Although he replaced Elmer Bernstein as the film's music composer .Director Jeremy Paul Kagan conjures up an attractive , unfailing sense of period in creating one of the best family films the Disney company had resulted out in decades . Kagan is a fine craftsmas who has directed various films of all kinds of genres as ¨Color of Justice¨, ¨Conspiracy : the trial of the Chicago 8¨ , ¨ Descending Angel¨, ¨Courage¨ , ¨The sting 2¨, ¨Bobbie's girl¨, ¨Roswell Ufo Cover-up¨, being his greatest hits the followings : ¨The big Fix¨, ¨Heroes¨ and ¨The chosen¨.

Watching any five minutes of this film you would be enough to recognise it as a Disney production. If you want to watch a good old fashioned boy with dog , or in this case girl with wolf, film, then you could do no better than this. Made in 1985, it could easily have been made 20 years earlier. I don't suppose older children would appreciate a film like this now, but if you are under 8 or over 40, then tuck into this wholesome feast. I gave it a 9, not because of any brilliance in the script, but because it is a perfect example of its type. Don't expect any surprises. Meredith Salinger is so good as the young runaway, however, that it set me wondering what she would have done with better material.

I barely feel qualified to write a comment on this forgotten Disney live-action film from the mid-1980s, since I've only seen it once, and that was back when it first came out. But I do remember liking it, and it's probably worth a re-watch for those who saw it back in the day, and a first watch for those who've never seen it.It's notable for featuring a very young John Cusack, before anyone knew who he was. It seems to me that Disney had a pretty good track record of live action films during that decade ("Never Cry Wolf" is another forgotten one) but that few of them have had any staying power.Grade: B+

For whatever reason I always watch the animals in movies. The absolute best was the dog in the 1948 "Oliver Twist" with Alec Guiness. The wolf in this film is great. Only one time do you see him looking to a handler for his cue. In the closing credits he "Jed" got top billing. Yet another 'journey' story but well done. Cusack played his part well and Salenger was perfect. The guidelines for comments call for ten lines of text so: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX