YES!!! FF got me into 3-D hype as well. That's how I started watching RWBY and Code LYOKO and other 3-D stuff. I'm a traditional artist who is digitally impaired somewhat. My original inspiration was the original Megaman series. Now I enjoy watching flash content here on NG. Your video of introspection shows your last point. Animation can relay emotion.
toxicbomb
A lot of flash movies on newgrounds inspired me(starting in middle school). What really keeps me going is coming up with ideas that make me laugh. Crazy, silly ideas. And there are a lot of people on newgrounds that really pull this off well. And the freedom to make something as crazy as you want is lots of fun, and also like you said, you can conjure up any emotion if you do it right :D
Black-Crystal
Yeah I am the same, I like coming up with different ideas of a story that is interesting enough to motivate me to create a animation :) To create something that is really good and interesting fulfills and inspires me to keep going.