This experience contributed to the development of his sense for gags and comic timing, which came into play when he joined forces with his older brother, Max in the production of animated cartoons.

In spite of the Oscar nominations, Fleischer was noted for being very detached from his staff according to director John Hubley, as well as editing completed cartoons in a way that broke continuity.

[4] After getting kicked out of Columbia, he approached Republic Pictures with an elf-like version of Koko the Clown, a character named "Snippy", who was tried out as a live action–animation combo novelty at the end of the low-budget nightclub musical, Trocadero.

[5] Following a series of oddball assignments, Dave landed a permanent position as a "technical specialist" at Universal through animation producer, Walter Lantz.

At Universal, Dave was a Special Effects Technical and general problem-solver, working on films such as Francis, The Birds, and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

He was credited as "Technical Advisor" on Universal's American release of the Russian animated feature, The Snow Queen (1957), supervising the English language dubbing.

[5] Following his assignment on Thoroughly Modern Millie, Fleischer retired and continued to live at the Peyton Hall apartment complex on Hollywood Boulevard until his death.