Quite simply really, i dont see the point of having 1/3-1/4 of game time to be watching the same animations over and over and over again. Just add an option in the settings that removes it.
I agree it would be great if there was an option to disable animations. Sometimes I really want to play the game fast and waiting for the animations to play when a character uses a power sort of gets in the way. Especially for characters who have passive abilities that fire frequently.