It's not, though, and this is where I think the two sides are talking past each other. A lot of players who enjoy Moon Druids are saying that they want the ability to transform into specifically identified creatures, not "stab lock X that you can call a wolf, a lion, or whatever you want." I think folks are being very plain about this but not always being heard.
My students hated the updated beastmaster because of the templates. Optimization-wise, the templates were better. But the flavour was not what they wanted. They wanted their pet bear, or whatever.