{"id":47849,"date":"2025-05-23T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=47849"},"modified":"2025-05-21T18:44:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T22:44:30","slug":"the-bootleg-files-rabbit-habit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/23\/the-bootleg-files-rabbit-habit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: Rabbit Habit"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 908:<\/strong> \u201cRabbit Habit\u201d (1975 parody of the Warner Bros. cartoons). <\/p>\n

LAST SEEN:<\/strong> On YouTube and Internet Archive. <\/p>\n

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:<\/strong> None.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> A wildly unauthorized use of copyright protected material. <\/p>\n

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: <\/strong>Not likely.<\/p>\n

Over the years, this column has occasionally featured underground cartoons that wickedly parodied beloved animated characters \u2013 \u201cApocalypse Pooh,\u201d \u201cBring Me the Head of Charlie Brown,\u201d \u201cA Charlie Brown Kwanzaa\u201d and \u201cMickey Mouse in Vietnam\u201d were among best titles that I\u2019ve celebrated. However, I must apologize for taking so long to highlight a true masterpiece of this micro-genre: the 1975 \u201cRabbit Habit,\u201d which imagines the Looney Tunes icons as drug dealers and addicts.
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\u201cRabbit Habit\u201d 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 \u201cBugs Bunny Superstar,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cRabbit Habit\u201d 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\u2019s Central Park singing \u201cPusherman.\u201d Elmer is carrying a large red bag full of goodies for his junkie clients.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, a black limousine pulls over and three large men step out and surround Elmer. We don\u2019t 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\u2019s curtains for him \u2013 and yes, Elmer gets a curtain rod with curtains dumped on his head.<\/p>\n

Elmer needs to sell his drugs quickly and he spots Bugs smoking a joint by a tree. Elmer holds up Bugs\u2019 arm which is full of needle injections and tells the audience, \u201cWabbit twacks!\u201d 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 \u201cIf I don\u2019t get some bennie, I\u2019m gonna sprout wings.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

With Elmer out of the way, Daffy takes Elmer\u2019s bag of drugs to the pawn shop run by Yosemite Sam \u2013 here, he is known as Albuquerque Sam \u2013 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

In creating \u201cRabbit Habit,\u201d 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\u2019s music and the zany sound effects from the classic cartoons. David Grotenstein did the voice performances and he nailed Elmer Fudd perfectly \u2013 this was the best Elmer since the passing of Arthur Q. Bryan \u2013 although his other characterizations were considerably less effective.<\/p>\n

By placing the Warner Bros. characters into situations that would be more appropriate for Ralph Bakshi creations, \u201cRabbit Habit\u201d offered a sublime mixture of Hollywood\u2019s Golden Age with the gritty urban vibe of mid-70s cinema. And even better, it is never predictable \u2013 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 \u2013 you need to see it to believe it).<\/p>\n

Peck stated that \u201cRabbit Habit\u201d 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\u2019s YouTube and the Internet Archive channels.<\/p>\n

Peck himself remains something of a mystery. He hasn\u2019t 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 \u201cRabbit Habit.\u201d He turned up on Jerry Beck\u2019s Cartoon Brew in 2012<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n