Pete An 11-year-old boy growing up in the circus. Not only has he just begun to earn his keep (through a seemingly endless series of ridiculous jobs and positions), but he's beginning to notice girls - and the unexpected ways they make him behave. Pete is surprised and occasionally disgusted by the ways of the world around him, but with the help of his good friends Wink, Kingston and Dusty, he maintains a healthy innocence.

Wink (Winkles the Bear). A happily reformed bear. His days of screaming down the back roads on his Harley and scaring campers are behind him, and he's just fine with that. Wink feels a special bond with Pete, for whom he has taken on the role of father figure and best friend. He's not crazy about riding around the ring in a ballerina getup, but with three square meals and his own pad, who's complaining?

Kingston A very relaxed cat. Having been taken from the tough position of King of the Jungle to a sweet gig like this, this trained musician has all the time in the world to play his sax and work on becoming the next Charlie Parker. With his Zen-like outlook on the world, he tends to carefully pick his moments to serve Pete as mentor and guru...then kicks back with a blood-red steak and a nice bottle of merlot.

Stucco the Clown Part clown and part hell spawn. His enthusiastic antics usually cause Pete nothing but trouble and grief. Stucco has the wild abandon of a child combined with the mischievous nature of an annoying little brother...with a little rabid dog thrown in for good measure.

Dusty A bit of a problem poodle. An enigma of sorts. Whether cooling out at the Betty Ford clinic for his Chapstick addiction or painting the town with the Hilton sisters, Dusty never fails to surprise. Or sometimes offend. A cynic? An optimist? Whatever he is, he's the life of the party.

Manfred Considers himself one very sophisticated monkey. As to the validity of that belief, the jury's still out. He's certainly the intellectual of the group, writing plays and novels in his spare time and running the circus library. But let it be said that you can take the monkey out of the monkey house, but you can't always take the monkey house out of the monkey.

Andrea The new acrobat girl and the love of Pete's life. Her acrobat parents have brought her into the family business, but her real passions are art and film. She aspires to be a great film director and sees everyone around her as possible characters in her next story. Andrea likes Pete a lot but seems above his desperate plays for her attention.

Mary (Hairy Mary the Bearded Lady) The cook, a shoulder to cry on, and a mother figure rolled into one - if you don't mind the prickly hugs. She may be a bit off, but she sure feels like home.