I think that the celda idea was pure genius. To me it looks awesome, and fantastic in the sense of being "like or reminding one of a fantasy."
If they had tried to go photorealistic with Zelda (which they may still do later of course) it would have inevitably been getting compared to every other game out there on the market with awesome graphics but shitty or redundant gameplay. It could have been lost in the wash if it looked like every other game getting released. Since it is cel-shaded, it defies direct comparison to the graphics of other games, and even though a lot of people are upset about it, it will still cause the press to concentrate more on plot and gameplay when reviewing the game. I honestly believe that Zelda would not have gotten the 40/40 score over in Japan last week if it had the usual graphics. Look at Metroid Prime - Nintendo releases a masterpiece and hardly anyone blinks. Well, people blinked of course but immediately you got the inevitable comparisons to SplinterCell, Halo, and the ubiquitous PC FPS - totally different games when it comes to gamplay and style, but that didn't stop the ignorant.
I'm giving Zelda the same open-minded, unbiased chance to thrill me that the fans in Japan gave it ... 407,000 sold in two days.