Critical Questions on David O'Reilly's Basic Animation Aesthetic reading

1. As O'Reilly said on page 2, "the sense of reality in animation can be whatever you want it to be." Hence, how those words are italicized. In animation, can our creations really be whatever we want them and actually be acceptable? Lets say they are, but reading further down, he mentions how leaving the picture simple and not using filters or the blurring button makes the animation seem better, so other animations with too much filter or blur is not acceptable or considered artsy?
2. I really like how he says that everyone is always worried about originality. That no one ever wants to copy off others but yet always end up doing whatever everyone else is doing. I highly agree that originality starts from the ground up. How do we know when something is original and never been seen when trying to create an animation? We do use the same tools and programs, right? How can we actually begin an original animation and not be criticized? What I mean by "being criticized" is how will our creations be accepted in society if it's something that has never been seen before.