yeah yeah yeah, do all these things, and afterwards, look at 2d interpolation methods that don't require AI for your inbetweens. There's some real fast kernel math that can lerp from one blob to another at 8 billion fps.
I think you’re getting downvoted because “yeah yeah yeah” is normally a sign that someone is sarcastically dismissing an idea, but the rest of your comment suggests you’re not at all - linerp is a great idea!