Joseph Barbera and Hanna worked alongside animator Tex Avery, who had created Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny for Warner Bros. and directed "Droopy" cartoons at MGM. In 1940, Hanna and Barbera jointly directed "Puss Gets the Boot", which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject. The studio wanted a diversified cartoon portfolio, so despite the success of "Puss Gets the Boot", Barbera and Hanna's supervisor, Fred Quimby, did not want to produce more cat and mouse cartoons believing that there were already enough cartoons of those in existence. Surprised by the success of "Puss Gets the Boot", Barbera
What Makes Daffy Duck he confusedly asks "What kind of a duck is this?" as he opens the lid of the duck costume, and Elmer pops out pointing his gun in the fox's face. Elmer, still in costume, chases after the fox, but is caught by the boot with a long rope, pulling him out of the costume and getting him entirely stuck in the boot, sadly asking himself, "How am I ever gonna catch that scwewy duck?" Daffy, who lassoed him, replies, "Precisely what I was wondering, my little nimrod!" Suddenly, the fox grabs Daffy by the throat and flees the area with