almost all of the film's dialogue, except for that of a few of the main characters, was recorded entirely on the streets of new york city. for the film's opening sequence, bakshi paid two construction workers us$50 each, and drank scotch whisky with them, recording the conversation. in the washington square park sequence, only skip hinnant was a professional actor; fritz's friends were voiced by young males bakshi found in the park. one of the sequences that was not based upon crumb's comics involved a comic chase through a synagogue full of praying rabbis. for the voices of the rabbis, bakshi used a documentary recording of his father and uncles. this scene continued to have a personal significance on bakshi after his father and uncle died. bakshi states, "thank god i have their voices. i have my dad and family praying. it's so nice to hear now." bakshi also went to a harlem bar with a tape recorder and spent hours talking to black patrons, getting drunk with them as he asked them questions.