That response kind of bugged me...
"Stick animating is the purest form of animating. It's for people who want to focus on the animation talent rather than the artwork. "
What is animation if not art? You can't just pass off artwork as a secondary component or something separate. I think you need to check your personal feelings when reading reviews. If you didn't want to be judged you wouldn't have put it up for people to see. Sorry, it was alright but don't bag on someone's opinion just because you're biased towards your own work.
I accept that there will always be stick animations but sticks seems very entry level to me. Sure it's great for getting the basics down, you guys even throw some more advanced techniques in there(not advanced as I've seen in some stick animations) but think about a total gorgeous designed character with those sorts of movements. Yeah it'd be much more challenging, but don't get defensive over someone that doesn't drool over basic stick characters.
What affects a score? Technical ability? Yes. But so does the overall feeling you get while watching it. Some people love sticks, some don't. You can't ask someone not to watch it because it's out here on the internet... it's for all to see and review and score as they see fit.
At the end of the day it's still sticks. That goes so far, and I'm sure it's fun to do... but what cartoons do you see on TV that are stick figures? None, because anyone can do it. Don't get me wrong, I love animating and having fun with it... that's what it should be about but you can't expect everyone to be in love with a few lines and a circle as much as you are.
All that said; I enjoyed it for what it was, and some of the elemental effects were pretty darn cool.