THEME:   none, but four 15-letter entries abutting!   
GOOD ONES:     Peter Pan rival   JIF [peanut butter]   
Picked locks   AFRO [here "picked" is an adjective, not a verb]   
Stock problem   STAMPEDE   
Black and blue, say   TWO TONE      
BTW:   The duck in Disney's "Peter and the Wolf"   SONIA [I'd go with "Raskolnikov's friend in 
Crime and Punishment," but that's me.  Sonia is a significant literary character.  The duck?]      
Bon mot   JEST [a 
bon mot is a "clever remark"; a 
jest is a comment made to cause laughter; the two are rather far apart]         
RATING:    
 
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun