I don't know if you've tried this, but hitting "Esc" will freeze all animations on a page (except the javascript ones, which I block with NoScript on Firefox). And I also use AdBlock Plus to block any animated images that show up often, like friend's icons, or you can block the whole class of mood icons with bouncing bunnies. :)

I have the larger default text size too, and it breaks layouts All The Time. Pretty much every airport website. Oy.