That's not hard to animate, and it's actually better that they did it that way.
I agree, it shouldn't be that hard. But I'm curious why you say it's better like that.
(Btw. In your animation classes. Do you learn rigging and skinning as well, or do you get character ready for animation?)
I'll answer both: The reason it's better is it builds character (no matter how small). Nefarious stepped over qwark while not looking at him indicates how much he doesnt care about him.
We do not learn rigging, as it is too advanced and technical. We are being trained to be character animators, with means the rigs are given to us ahead of time, and we do the actual "moving."
We learn the 12 principals of animation, and take them into account when make poses or shots.
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."