In 1939, Harman created his masterpiece, "Peace on Earth", a downbeat morality tale about two squirrels discovering the evils of humanity, which was nominated for an Oscar. The following year, Ising produced William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's first cartoon, "Puss Gets the Boot", a cartoon featuring characters later known as Tom and Jerry. Despite the popularity of "Puss Gets the Boot", Ising's "The Milky Way" was more successful and became the first non-Disney film to win the Academy Award trophy. Despite the success of these and other cartoons, MGM's production under Harman and Ising remained low.