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Ah the good old days, when cannibalism threats could still make it into a family movie.

Actor Sean Marshall was 12 at the time of the movie's release, and the character was portrayed as about the same age. They don't say exactly how long Pete has been orphaned (and presumably abused), but if the only option for living was to end up with the deranged hillbilly Gogan family, he can't have gotten that great a start in life.

Walt Disney Studios

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Good rule of thumb: A 12-year-old who still keeps an imaginary best friend is not fine.

Luckily for him, a couple of paranoid delusions and pratfalls later, he finds himself living happily with an alcoholic, an upstanding young woman with the patience of a saint, and her seafaring lover (who totally won't mind this random kid hanging around as they start pumping out hearty New England babies). Pete easily and confidently jumps into social situations with strangers (although with mixed results, due to his penchant for psychedelic and possibly schizophrenic hallucinations). It does take an oddly extended training session before he figures out how to properly move a paintbrush vertically instead of horizontally, but he sure does give a good ol' big-hearted grin when he grasps the concept.

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How He Should Have Turned Out:

Sadly, there are plenty of abuse stories that paint a dark reality of Pete's outlook. A more likely result of his treatment would have been for him to withdraw and experience a lack of self-confidence at best. At worst, as in a case as reported by The Dallas Morning News, he would have faced " years of psychotherapy and hundreds of doctor visits ... Fits of rage, long nights of tears and terror, suicide attempts, fistfights, [and] handfuls of mood-altering drugs."