No offense intended: I find your remarks "clear" enough, but slightly lacking in the "polite and well-written" departments suggested in the side-bar. Just something to keep in mind for future posts.

Speaking as a huge Miyazaki fan, I actually have to agree (to some extent) with your assessment of Ponyo as shallow. Howl's Moving Castle had similar story problems as well. And while Spirited Away is an interesting and worthy film, it is also a very strange one, and to be honest I am surprised that many consider it his best.

In other words: I don't think you're jaded, but I do think-- with the exception of Mononoke-- you got unlucky with the order of films you started with. All three of those movies lack the clear, piercing moral insight and grounded magical-realism that Miyazaki built his career with.

Having seen quite literally everything he has ever made, these would be my top recommendations:

My Neighbor Totoro Kiki's Delivery Service Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Castle of Cagliostro Princess Mononoke

It would be impossible to rank them-- they're all masterpieces. Watch them in any order.