Reminds me of the people who reflexively shat on FF9 for being too "kiddy" and "furry" after FF7 and FF8, which are both SUPER SERIOUS games for SERIOUS MEN
Ocarina of Time is my favorite game. Ever. So when Nintendo released early art and (I think) screenshots of Link and Ganon both looking badass and not cell-shaded, it just looked like more Ocarina/Majora with better graphics on more powerful hardware. 2 of the best games created, so I was stoked and my expectations were set.
Therefore, I was one of the disappointed ones when the final art style was known, but on release Nintendo was vindicated, as WW is amazing. After BotW and TotK I do hope they don't only release cartoony/cell-shaded Zelda games going forward though...