When I was a young man, I disdained pictures of that type. Darned if I can remember how I got that way, perhaps it is a disease of youth to quickly sort aesthetic choices into bins labeled "cool" and "corny." And I have never understood what internal engine stamps out my aesthetic decisions, or how its cams are arranged. But those cams have smoothed a bit over time, enough to let me enjoy those pictures. Moms take the best kid pictures, no question about it. Maybe when humans start living to be about 120 we will begin to have rational theories about aesthetics, but not before then.
However, I did a feel a little uncomfortable about the looks on some of those animals' faces, poor things!