In 1938, the comic strip The Captain and the Kids (Rudolph Dirks' parallel version of his own strip The Katzenjammer Kids) was adapted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, becoming the studio's first self-produced series of theatrical cartoon short subjects. The short-lived series was unsuccessful, ending after one year and a total of 15 cartoons. Following that cancellation, Freleng returned to Warner Bros. where he had earlier been an animation director.