Problems importing illustrator Files - URGENT

I don't recall anything like that. Are you maybe thinking of disabling the option to vectorize/continuously rasterize the art? If so, I don't think that would work, but if that's not it I can't remember if there are any other options that could help do something like make a smart object.

David, do you remember if there was some trick like turning things into smart objects or similar? I think it made Illustrator cache a copy of the artwork which CH could then use. I don't quite remember what feature it was though. I recall it fixed some of the problems (but not all).

Clipping masks in Illustrator can definitely cause funky visuals in Character Animator. Often times I will make a shape for a clipping mask and then actually set it as a clipping mask inside CH (which means that my puppet might look funny in AI because some art isn't masked). Here's info on how to set a clipping mask: https://helpx.adobe.com/adobe-character-animator/using/puppet-layers.html#:~:text=Choose%20Puppet%20%3E%20Release%20clipping%20Mask,masks%20in%20the%20puppet%20panel.

Another option is to make a lean version of your puppet just for CH. Expand your paths so you only have art that looks exactly like it does in that second screenshot, then it should import into CH just fine.