Miyazaki's imagination is off the charts! I recommend Nausicaa, Howl's Moving Castle, and my favorite Princess Monoke, these films might be a little bit darker, but not so much that the kids can't watch 'em.

The title of this article is a bit misleading considering that Miyazaki didn't direct Whisper of the Heart or Pom Poko.  Though he was involved in writing the former, Pom Poko was the work of Isao Takahata, a genius who gets far too little recognition.

I came across Howl's Moving Castle for the first time on IFC I think? I was un-moving from there on. Mesmerizing.

 I love  Miyazaki movies! I saw Totoro first when an ex got it off of Japanese tv. It was all in Japanese but I didn't care as it was so different from all the other cartoons I had seen. Joe hisaishi's music is great too! I now have all the movies from Ghibli, & it doesn't matter about your age you can still enjoy them & be reminded of a time when things were more innocent.

I'd also recommend Lapuda:Castle in the Sky. I think I heard that was one of hias earliest anikmated films ad it has all the elements. Adorable child protagonists, air pirates, cool folks helpig out, a message about War and the environment. And of course some extraordinary visuals and scifi concepts. The Castle and the Island that it floats on are amazing. The machines and the wildlife are beautiful.

I don't think Spirited away is all that dark. It has one fairly violent scene where a River spirit is attacked by paper dolls. And there's that shadow creature. But it ends well and I don't recall anyone dying or staying dead.

Howl's Moving Castle also has some scares but it is ultimately kid friendly I thnk. And has a very hopeful ending.

Princess Mononoke is probably his most graphically violent film, but the story and the characters and the animation are just extraordinary. Nausica might be a less bloody alternative to Princess Mononoke. It has no less violence and isn't really any less dark, there are fewer severed limbs and heads and coughing up blood. And it hasd a similr themes and narrative structure. Its defintely a great film in it's own right. And everyone should see Princesws Mononoke at some point in her life. I liked that the Lady in Charge of Iron town wasn't really a villain,she had people with real problems she was trying to solve and sincerely good goals. Curing the lepers, protecting the women she'd saved. She was a sort of humanist trying to do good things for her people ad the outcasdts she'd welcomed, but willing to do siome very bad things tro makje that happen. And of course thre animal Gods were no less violent or brutal in the protection of their own interests. No one was either blameless or unsympathetic It was just a hard time. With some sad choices.

This isn't a MIyazaki movie, but one Iaalways thought would appeal to other Miyazaki fans as it dosto me was Metropolis.  The amnime.  It has a cutee kid who falls in love wuith  mysterious yopung girl and his grandfatherly grandfather is a detective for the UN.  It's sweet tale of young love olitics and a robot revolution set to the tune of I Can't Stop Loving You. 

I love how Chris phrases the closing of his description of Pom Poko being "filled with lots of silliness and fun as you would expect of any large group of raccoons" because really, what else do we expect of raccoons in large groups? (Suddenly I'm in mind of the old live action Wonderful World of Disney television programs from some time ago. Raccoons featured prominently in those, too, always getting into trouble in some cabin in the woods and other hijinks.)

 Yeah, Howl's Moving Castle is really something, yet I believe that it's suitable for kids as well.

Anyway, good job.