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The Peanut Butter Solution

Michael Baskin is an average 11-year-old boy. His father, Billy Baskin, is a struggling artist and temporary sole caretaker of the children, while his wife attends to the estate of her recently deceased father in Australia. Upon hearing that an abandoned mansion has recently burned down, Michael and his friend Connie decide to explore the remains. Outside the mansion, Connie dares Michael to take a look inside, leading to a frightening encounter with the ghosts of its homeless inhabitants who had died in the fire. Michael does not know this yet, but his fearsome run-in with the ghosts has given him a mysterious illness, "The Fright." Michael wakes up the next morning to find that "The Fright" has made him lose his hair. After a failed attempt with a wig, the ghosts visit Michael in his sleep and give him the recipe of a magical formula for hair growth, the main ingredient of which is peanut butter. Michael's first attempt to make the formula is thwarted when his father and sister dispose of it, thinking he was creating something to ingest.

The ghosts return the following night, giving themselves a second chance to repay him for giving his money to some homeless people. They also give Michael special instructions on not adding too much peanut butter, which will result in dreadful results. Michael successfully makes the formula but ignores their instructions and wakes up the next morning to find that his new hair has begun to grow super fast. After only a few minutes, he has grown a full head of hair. Suspicious, Connie confronts Michael about his unusual ability. When Michael reveals his concoction, Connie decides to apply some to his pubic area in an attempt to create the illusion that he is going through puberty. Connie soon discovers that the joke is on him. Soon, Michael and Connie's hair grows to such lengths that it becomes a nuisance for the school and their classmates, resulting in their suspensions. While Michael searches for a solution, Connie discovers that the hair will stop growing by yelling at it.

The art teacher at Michael's school, the Signor, frightens children and forbids them from using their imagination. After getting fired from the school, the Signor finds out about Michael's condition and kidnaps him (and many other neighborhood children) to make magic paint brushes from Michael's ever-growing hair, in which he subdues Michael with a knockout drug. The kidnapped children are put to work under harsh conditions. The paintbrushes are so powerful that they paint whatever their user imagines without need for detail or neatness. Michael's sister, Suzie, and Connie discover the Signor's magical paintbrush factory and try to rescue Michael and the other kids. Connie tries to use force, but Signor and his dog James overpower him. Instead, Connie tricks the Signor into painting a picture of the abandoned mansion. Connie then dares him to investigate inside, leading "The Fright" to be passed on from Michael to the Signor. The Signor, now bald, escapes from the haunted house and chases the children, locking them up. Just as Connie is about to escape with Michael, Susan and their dad find the factory, and the local police arrest the Signor.

The film ends with the family reunited, the mother returning home, and Michael's hair no longer growing out of control.