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 mallet, knocking him out. A little later, Daffy is admiring himself in a mirror. Elmer puts on a semi-realistic female duck disguise and rubber fishing boots and calls to Daffy from a pond. Daffy begins flirting with the duck, but dives underwater, sees Elmer's boots, and sees through his game. Still, Daffy plays along, and offers to bring some art collectibles for "her" to see. He slips away and awakens the fox (who was still unconscious until now) with a duck call. The fox sees the "female duck", grabs it, and runs away, until he notices the neck stretching. Curiously,