I completely agree but the alternative seems to be putting information that needs attention in sticky overlays, popups and so on. I think animating it is the least horrible UX decision you can make.
Also have a look at the todo demo - https://www.react-reveal.com/examples/advanced/todo/ or the form errors - https://www.react-reveal.com/examples/advanced/ . You can try it with and without animations (use checkboxes to control that). Which one do you prefer?