The Bootleg Files: Rabbit Habit

BOOTLEG FILES 908: “Rabbit Habit” (1975 parody of the Warner Bros. cartoons).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube and Internet Archive.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A wildly unauthorized use of copyright protected material.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Over the years, this column has occasionally featured underground cartoons that wickedly parodied beloved animated characters – “Apocalypse Pooh,” “Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown,” “A Charlie Brown Kwanzaa” and “Mickey Mouse in Vietnam” were among best titles that I’ve celebrated. However, I must apologize for taking so long to highlight a true masterpiece of this micro-genre: the 1975 “Rabbit Habit,” which imagines the Looney Tunes icons as drug dealers and addicts.

“Rabbit Habit” was the work of Steve Davis, who made this short film after graduating from New York University. Back in 1975, the Warner Bros. cartoons received a boost of attention thanks to the feature documentary “Bugs Bunny Superstar,” which sparked a new wave of television specials and compilation films involving the Termite Terrace denizens. Davis did not have permission from Warner Bros. to use their characters in this film, nor is it likely that he would have received it even if he made a pretty-please-with-sugar request.

“Rabbit Habit” makes its warped personality obvious in the title sequence with Bugs substituting a joint for his trademark carrot. The film opens with Elmer Fudd dressed in the finest of mid-70s pimp style while he struts through New York’s Central Park singing “Pusherman.” Elmer is carrying a large red bag full of goodies for his junkie clients.

Suddenly, a black limousine pulls over and three large men step out and surround Elmer. We don’t see their faces, but their voices sound like Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. The trio warns Elmer that he is overdue in repaying his $3,000 debt to their boss Mr. Rocco, or else it’s curtains for him – and yes, Elmer gets a curtain rod with curtains dumped on his head.

Elmer needs to sell his drugs quickly and he spots Bugs smoking a joint by a tree. Elmer holds up Bugs’ arm which is full of needle injections and tells the audience, “Wabbit twacks!” Bugs insists those marks were just from selling his blood to the blood bank, and he agrees to buy some coke from Elmer. But before he can make a sale, a strung-out Daffy Duck turns up demanding more drugs while yelling “If I don’t get some bennie, I’m gonna sprout wings.”

Even worse for Elmer, there is the sound of a distant police siren that is quickly approaching. Elmer begs Bugs to hide him, who places him in some unsatisfactory spots including a trash can and up a tree before dragging Elmer to the top of the Empire State Building. Of course, Bugs throws him off.

With Elmer out of the way, Daffy takes Elmer’s bag of drugs to the pawn shop run by Yosemite Sam – here, he is known as Albuquerque Sam – and gets $3,000 for his stolen narcotics. Elmer confronts Daffy with a rifle and blows his head off. Then, the three gangsters show up demanding their money. Sam appears with the bag of drugs and gets blown to smithereenies by the thugs. Bugs takes on the disguise of the notorious Mr. Rocco and scares off the gangsters, while a hypodermic needle from Elmer’s bag somehow becomes airborne and lands on his rump, causing him to go airborne and float on a cloud while in a narcotized state of euphoria.

In creating “Rabbit Habit,” Peck wanted to imagine what became of the Warner Bros. characters in the 12 years after the studio shut down its animation unit. Peck shot the film in 16mm and sampled Carl Stalling’s music and the zany sound effects from the classic cartoons. David Grotenstein did the voice performances and he nailed Elmer Fudd perfectly – this was the best Elmer since the passing of Arthur Q. Bryan – although his other characterizations were considerably less effective.

By placing the Warner Bros. characters into situations that would be more appropriate for Ralph Bakshi creations, “Rabbit Habit” offered a sublime mixture of Hollywood’s Golden Age with the gritty urban vibe of mid-70s cinema. And even better, it is never predictable – even with repeat viewing, it is a joy of constant surprises, especially with the appearance of a prominent cartoon character from another animation studio in the closing gag (sorry, no spoilers – you need to see it to believe it).

Peck stated that “Rabbit Habit” played in a Los Angeles theater, where audiences applauded his audacity. He said that he shared it with Tex Avery (who loved it) and Chuck Jones (who did not appreciate it). Of course, the film would never be included in any official Warner Bros. anthology, although it can be seen on Peck’s YouTube and the Internet Archive channels.

Peck himself remains something of a mystery. He hasn’t been active on YouTube in 15 years and on the Internet Archive in nine years, and the Internet Movie Database has no credits for him beyond “Rabbit Habit.” He turned up on Jerry Beck’s Cartoon Brew in 2012 to answer questions from readers about the film. If anyone reading this has any update on him or the other people involved in this small gem of underground, please contact me.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: While this weekly column acknowledges the presence of rare film and television productions through the so-called collector-to-collector market, this should not be seen as encouraging or condoning the unauthorized duplication and distribution of copyright-protected material, either through DVDs or Blu-ray discs or through postings on Internet video sites.

Listen to Phil Hall’s award-winning podcast “The Online Movie Show with Phil Hall” on SoundCloud and his radio show “Nutmeg Chatter” on WAPJ-FM in Torrington, Connecticut, with a new episode every Sunday. His new book “100 Years of Wall Street Crooks” is now in release through Bicep Books.