The (1940–1958) is widely considered the "Golden Age" of the franchise, produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. While there is no single, all-encompassing "Fred Quimby Collection" available for a one-click digital download, several official collections and streaming options cover this era. Official Home Media and Digital Collections

to the high-energy, destructive mayhem influenced by Tex Avery, you can see the characters' designs and humor sharpen over time.

: While community-uploaded collections appear on the Internet Archive, these are often subject to removal due to copyright claims from Warner Bros. , the current rights holder.

In 1939, directors and Joseph Barbera pitched a concept about a cat and mouse. Fred Quimby, then head of MGM's short features, was initially uninterested and only "green-lit" a single short, Puss Gets the Boot (1940), to see if it could compete with Disney. The Turning Point