I guess neopets is trying to look more "Web 2.0" ("...we've taken it out of the 90's... blahblahblah") Is it *really* that bad? I'm thinking there's a fair percentage who reacted negatively simply because it was unfamiliar, rather than downright ugly. People tend to react negatively to unfamiliar objects, as it is instinctive. Besides, change is inevitable, it would have happened sooner or later. I'm taking a wait-and-see approach, give it a month or so before I decide if I like it or not.
As to the pet redraws, again, I guess it's more unfamiliar than ugly, but that depends on individual taste (recall the earlier redraws; each one probably provoked similar reactions, but after some time you got used to it and perhaps even grew to like it). They *do* look lobotomized/high at the moment, but they will probably be animated to show feelings or similar (like yahoo! avatars)
Also:
the news wrote:
We would also like to mention that if you aren't happy with the change to any of your Neopets, don't go hunting for a morphing potion just yet! You may find justice early next week
Btw, I'm not defending the changes; I am neither for or against them, I just want everyone to calm down a bit. Give it time, see what develops, that sort of thing. I guess one reason why I'm not very attached to the original looks is that I've only played for a year (compared to most PPTers who have done so for... far longer) I do agree that TNT has to spend more time with its adult demographic, as we (or most of us, anyway) are the ones with the money.
edit: eep, I may have gone off tangent here; looks more like it belongs to the new layout bit, sorry...