Getting straight to the game as quickly as possible: How important is it?

[codeb0t]

I'm designing a mini-games collection, and my idea was to link the games with a small story. This would include a short animated cutscene before starting, and also between levels. The idea was to add some theme and charm to the experience.

If you think about some of the most popular casual games though (Angry Birds, Temple Run, Tiny Wings etc.), they seem to throw you straight into the game, without any extraneous hindrances.

So, is mercilessly cutting out anything that is peripheral to core gameplay fundamental to a great mobile game? Is there any room for laid back whimsy, or are users inevitably just mashing their fingers on the screen to get bypass anything that isn't strictly gameplay?