Charlotte Elizabeth Darling-Huffine was an American ink artist and animator, who worked at several cartoon studios, including Disney.
Charlotte was born in Los Angeles to Arthur Darling and Ethel Joyce and had a younger sister named Virginia. She began her career in animation at Ed Fox Productions in 1933 but left after six weeks to work for Leon Schlesinger's studio where she inked several early Looney Tunes cartoons, most notably Porky Pig. She later did work for MGM, Walter Lantz Studio, UPA, and was among those who founded the Screen Cartoonist Guild in 1938[2] following various animation strikes.
By the 1950s, she was married and her husband, a film editor, and son lived contently until she was called to testify and identify supposed members of the Communist Party before the House Un-American Activities Committee.[3] Her husband's ability to work was impacted by these trials and the strain led to their divorce. Now a single mother, she took a job at Disney Animation as an in-betweener before becoming an assistant animator. She briefly was promoted to animator but, fearing a layoff due to lower seniority, asked to become an assistant again. During this time, she met background artist Ray Huffine and the two married following her work on Sleeping Beauty.
Charlotte continued to work, often freelancing, throughout the 1960s even after Ray's death in 1967 as an assistant to animators, such as Tex Avery and Rod Scribner and later projects for Hanna-Barbera's shows (Super Friends, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels) and films (Charlotte's Web, Heidi's Song). She also worked for Ralph Bakshi during the productions of Coonskin, Wizards, and The Lord of the Rings alongside Irven Spence.
In 1982, she broke her shoulder and had to retire. Charlotte died in 1990 during a heart by-pass surgery.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Lady and the Tramp | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| 1958 | Paul Bunyan | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| 1959 | Sleeping Beauty | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
| Donald in Mathmagic Land | Assistant animator (uncredited) |
