Please consider allowing animations to be objects which can be nested inside one another.
As an example: the user could create animation 'shooting', which would be a gun sprite recoiling, producing a muzzle flare, etc
The shooting animation would be listed in a 'project animations' panel or some such library for the project.
User can drag/drop this shooting animation object into the timeline of any other animation they are currently editing.
The shooting animation object's timeline will be triggered on the frame it is inserted into the parent's timeline.
Macromedia/Adobe flash had this type of system and it was an invaluable addition for time saving in even moderately complex animation sequences. I'm big on modularity and re-using things I've already made if for nothing else than visual consistency when wanting to use an animation in different contexts. Edit: Also dramatically simplifies each individual timeline, separation of concerns and all that.
Thanks!