For a great, under appreciated (in the west) Miyazaki series pre-Ghibli, check out “Future Boy Conan”[0]. It’s my personal favourite, and all 3 of my boys (and my wife) have watched it multiple times. It’s the source of a lot of Ghibli tropes, and I think they were expertly executed.
Of course it’s nice that it’s a TV series, so you get to spend that much longer in the world with the characters.