I've loved using VLC for quite a long time, but I don't think it can play .gifs. For me, VLC player has long since replaced Realplayer and QuickTime Player for all of my other needs, but I still have to use QT for .gif playback.
Will there ever be added support for .gifs? I know people rarely save gifs anymore, but it would be useful to have it compatible with an already flexible player.