Paws (film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Paws
PAL region home video cover
Directed by	Karl Zwicky
Produced by	Rebel Penfold-Russell Andrena Finlay Vicki Watson
Written by	Harry Cripps Karl Zwicky
Starring	Billy Connolly Nathan Cavaleri Emilie François Sandy Gore Heath Ledger
Music by	Mario Millo
Cinematography	Geoff Burton
Editing by	Nicholas Holmes
Studio	Universal Pictures PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Focus Features
Distributed by	Universal Pictures Warner Home Video
Release date(s)	25 September 1997 (1997-09-25) (Australia) 15 February 1998 (1998-02-15) (UK)
Running time	83 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Money made	£137,731 (UK, opening weekend) A$455,171 (Australia)

Paws is a fun Australian comedy film from 1997. It's a family movie that came out on September 25, 1997, in Australia. The movie was filmed in Sydney, New South Wales.

The film stars 15-year-old guitarist Nathan Cavaleri. He plays Zac, a boy who has adventures with PC. PC is a talking Jack Russell Terrier voiced by comedian Billy Connolly. PC is very good with computers. He learned these skills from his old owner. He even created a program that translates his barks into English! Zac later makes a smaller version of this program. He hides it in a bow tie so PC can talk anywhere. Together, Zac and PC must stop a very important computer disk from falling into the wrong hands.

Movie Story: The Adventures of Zac and PC

A Secret Message and a New Home

The story begins with Alex, a computer programmer. He lives in a cold place far away. An intruder named Anja visits him. Before she breaks in, Alex writes an important message. He sends it to his friend Susie, who works at a greyhound racetrack. Alex puts the message on a floppy disk and gives it to his dog, PC. He tells PC to give it only to Susie and to trust no one else. Alex hides PC just before Anja comes in. Anja and her mean dog, Sibelius, threaten Alex for money. Alex tells her the money is in his retirement fund. Anja then harms Alex. Later, she finds the money is gone. She sees the initials "SA" on a file. She finds out "SA" means Susie Arkwright from an address book. Anja then starts watching Susie.

PC makes his way to Susie's neighborhood. But he gets hit by a car. A family takes him in. This is Zac's family. Zac is 14 years old and tells part of the story. His family just moved to Sydney from Melbourne. His family includes his mom Amy, his step-dad Stephen, and his younger sister Binky. Zac thinks the disk is his and keeps it. Zac then meets his new neighbor, Susie. Susie grew up in Sydney. Her daughter Samantha, who moved from London, lives next door. Susie and Samantha recognize PC. They then learn that Alex has died. PC continues to stay with Zac's family.

PC's Talking Secret

PC uses Zac's computer to create a special program. This program can translate any sound into plain English. This means it can even translate his barks! He shows it to Zac. Zac gives PC a new voice with a Scottish accent. Zac then puts the program onto a small computer. He adds a microphone to a bow tie. Now PC can talk even when he's not near the desktop computer.

Zac and PC's relationship is a bit difficult at first. After some problems, often involving Anja and Sibelius, PC decides to tell Zac the truth. PC explains that he was originally from Iceland. Alex, his owner, wrote computer programs there. Alex was married to Anja, who was his assistant. But Anja never truly loved him. Anja stole Alex's programs. She made a lot of money, at least a million dollars, from them. Alex was very sad when he found out. He took his money and ran away to Australia with PC to escape Anja. But Anja somehow found him.

Solving the Mystery and Finding the Treasure

Zac finds the floppy disk. It has a clue about where to find information about the money. Zac, PC, and Sammy go to Alex's apartment. They complete a crossword puzzle on the computer. A video of Alex appears. He says, "A note to follow so." Then a picture of a pea-like object shows up. After singing the song "Do-Re-Mi," they figure out the password is "LAP." They then see another video of Alex. This time he says, "Well done. The rest is in and under your nose. Bonne Chance." Anja arrives and threatens them with a knife. Zac quickly deletes the file to stop her. But Anja kidnaps PC.

Back home, Stephen agrees to help them. Zac had seen Stephen taking a loan from Anja earlier. They all go to the greyhound track. This is where Alex and Susie used to work. PC tricks Sibelius into letting him out of the cage. But when Zac comes to help PC, he accidentally lets out Anja's dog. Sibelius chases after them. Sammy tries to figure out the clue. She thinks "LAP in" means the French word for rabbit. She tells PC. PC is then launched into the commentator's box. He announces that the money is in the rabbit. Anja thinks he means the mechanical rabbit on the track. She starts tearing it apart. But she gets stuck and is dragged around the track. She doesn't find any money.

Binky finds Sammy's Hollywood pin badge. Alex had given it to Sammy. Binky asks, "What's a Hollywood?" Sammy explains that it's a place in L.A.. Then they realize the clue means "L.A. pin." They find jewelry hidden inside the pin!

The movie ends with PC making friends with Sammy's dog, Cordelia.

Meet the Cast

• Billy Connolly as PC (voice)
• Nathan Cavaleri as Zac
• Emilie François as Samantha
• Freyja Meere as Binky, Zac's sister
• Rachael Blake as Amy, Zac and Binky's mother
• Nick White as Zac's father
• Joe Petruzzi as Stephen, Zac's stepfather
• Caroline Gillmer as Susie, Samantha's mother
• Norman Kaye as Alex
• Sandy Gore as Anja
• Kevin Golsby as Commentator
• Rebel Penfold-Russell as Carla
• Alyssa-Jane Cook as Trish
• Daniel Kellie as Puck
• Matthew Krok as Bottom
• Gezelle Byrnes as Agnes
• Richard Carter as Cafe owner
• Ben Connolly as Billy
• Charles Conway as Priest
• Julie Godfrey as Sister Deidre
• Denni Gordon as Dog hairdresser
• Heath Ledger as Oberon
• David Nettheim as Rabbi
• Gulliver Page as Fan operator

See also

In Spanish: Paws para niños