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
Daffy Duck Hunt the freezer door to be let out. After a brief fight between his good and bad conscience, the dog lets Daffy out of the freezer. Daffy tries to leave the house---claiming, in a non sequitur, "There's a guy waitin' for me!"---but is blocked by the dog. After making a bunch of noise, Daffy jumps into the dog's mouth just as Porky comes to see what all the noise is about. Upon coming down, Porky thinks the dog is trying to steal the duck for himself, and subsequently beats him. Porky then throws Daffy back in the freezer. The dog now