depends what you want the animations to do. You can use QT, as it has sprites for interactivity. LiveStagePro is the best app for getting at them. [rant] Apple has yet to leverage the amazing capabilities of QT. Part of the problem is lack of a decent authoring environment]/rant].
imho Flash is only good for things that can't be done by any other means. For instance, check out
www.theyrule.net. But I agree that Flash is by and large overused by "designers" that wouldn't know good information architechture or layout if it hit them with a large stick.