Dream of the Rarebit Fiend He addressed religious leaders, alcoholism, homelessness, political speeches, suicide, fashion, and other topics, whereas his other strips were fantasy or had seemingly vague, timeless backgrounds. The strip referenced contemporary events such as the 1904 election of Theodore Roosevelt; the recently built Flatiron Building (1902) and St. Regis Hotel (1904) in New York City; and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. The rarebit is a dish typically made with rich cheese thinned with ale and served melted on toast with cayenne and mustard mixed in. McCay used it despite its innocuousness—cultural theorist Scott Bukatman states rarebit was not the sort of dish
French Rarebit adding, with a cheer, ""Vive Antoine!"" To this, Bugs remarks as the cartoon closes, "Poi-sonally, I prefer hamboigah." The short can be found (uncut) on the "". French Rarebit French Rarebit is a 1951 Warner Bros. "Merrie Melodies" (Blue Ribbon reissued in 1960 with the original ending) animated short, directed by Robert McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce. The title is a takeoff on "Welsh rarebit", which is also known as "Welsh rabbit". In Paris, France, a delivery truck carrying a crate marked "Carrots from U.S.A." accidentally loses the crate, along with Bugs Bunny, after driving on a bumpy road.