''Paws'' is an independent 1997 Australian
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
that was released on 25 September 1997
in Australia and filmed in
Sydney, New South Wales
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
.
The film stars 15-year-old guitarist
Nathan Cavaleri
Nathan Cavaleri (born 18 June 1982) is an Australian blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and a former child actor. He issued two albums as a solo artist, ''Jammin' with the Cats'' (1993) and '' Nathan'' (1994). He has been a member of v ...
who has adventures with PC – a talking
Jack Russell Terrier
The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting in England. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated and can be any colour.
Small tan and white terriers that technically belong to oth ...
(voiced by comedian
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
).
The dog is computer literate
– skills acquired from his former master allowing him to create a computer program that translates his words into English, with Zac subsequently designing a portable version that can be 'concealed' in a bow tie – and the pair must a stop a valuable disk from falling into the wrong hands.
Plot
Alex, a computer programmer from a cold place very far away, receives a visit from an intruder named Anja, but before she breaks in; he writes an important message to a colleague, at a greyhound racetrack, named Susie, transfers it to a
floppy disk
A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...
and gives it to his dog, PC warning him that he should give it only to Susie and trust no one. He hides PC just before Anja breaks in with her vicious dog, Sibelius and threatens him for money. He tells her that the money is in the retirement fund, after which she kills him. But later she finds that the money is missing and sees the initials SA on the file name which she discovers, in the nearby address book; to stand for Susie Arkwright and starts spying on Susie.
PC reaches Susie's neighbourhood but gets hit by a car and is taken in by the family of 14-year-old Zac (the film's main narrator along with PC) who had recently moved to Sydney from Melbourne with his mother Amy, step-father Stephen and his younger sister Binky. Zac thinks the disk is one of his and keeps it. Zac is then introduced to his new neighbour Susie, who grew up in Sydney, and her daughter Samantha who moved from London and live next door and they recognise PC. Then they learn of Alex's death and PC continues to stay with Zac's family. PC uses Zac's computer to make a translation programme that could translate any language or sound into plain English, even his barking. He demonstrates it to Zac who gives him a new voice with a Scottish accent and installs the software onto a palmtop computer with a microphone in a bow tie so he can talk away from the desktop.
Zac's relationship with PC is strained and after a spate of incidents, often involving Anja and Sibelius, the dog decides to tell him the truth. PC was originally from Iceland where Alex wrote computer programmes and he was married to Anja who was his assistant but she never loved him. Anja stole Alex's programmes and made at least a million dollars from them. Alex got heartbroken when he found the money which he withdrew and fled to Australia with PC to escape from her but Anja found him somehow.
Zac finds the floppy disk which has a clue on where to find information on where to find the money. Zac goes with PC and Sammy to Alex's flat and completes the crossword puzzle on the computer to see a video of Alex saying "A note to follow so" followed by a picture of a pea-like object. After singing
Do-Re-Mi
"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''The Sound of Music''. Each syllable of the musical solfège system appears in the song's lyrics, sung on the pitch it names. Rodgers was helped in its creation by long-time ...
they figure that the password is LAP then they see another video of Alex this time saying "Well done. The rest is in and under your nose. Bonne Chance". Anja arrives and threatens them with a dagger so Zac deletes the file to stop her but she kidnaps PC.
Back home Stephen, who Zac had previously seen taking a loan from Anja, agrees to help them and they go to the greyhound track where Alex and Susie worked. PC tricks Sibelius into letting him out of the cage but when Zac comes to help him he lets out Anja's dog who chases after them. Sammy deciphers the clue but takes "LAP in" to be the French word for rabbit and tells PC who is then catapulted into the commentator's box where he announces that the money is in the rabbit. Anja takes this to mean the mechanical rabbit on the track and starts tearing it apart but gets stuck and is dragged around the track not finding any money. Binky find's Sammy's
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
pin badge, which Alex gave her, and asks "What's a Hollywood?", and Sammy explains that it is a place in
L.A.
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
then they realise that the clue means L.A. pin and they find jewelry inside it.
The film ends with PC making out with Sammy's dog Cordelia.
Cast
Release
The film was released theatrically on 25 September 1997 in Australia and on 15 February 1998 in the United Kingdom where it was rated PG uncut but in its VHS release in the UK, later that year, the film was re-rated U with nine seconds of cuts
removing the instances of "bum" and "crappy" to tone down the language. However, the uncut version has since been released on
digital distribution
Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content (media), content such as Sound recording and reproductio ...
in the UK given the legislation covering
BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
certificates on physical home video formats does not apply to online video services.
References
External links
*
*
*
Pawsat Oz Movies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paws (Film)
1997 films
1990s adventure films
1990s crime comedy films
Australian children's comedy films
Australian independent films
Films about dogs
Films set in Sydney
Films shot in Sydney
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films
Films directed by Karl Zwicky
1990s children's films
1997 comedy films
1990s English-language films