re: Action and visuals
You're right about it not being T-3, although there are some damn good action sequences in some of these films. Many modern audiences get fidgety sitting through something like Totoro or Spirited Away, which can spend a minute just watching water dripping or something. I personally find such films very enjoyable. While T-3 is the film equivalent of riding a roller coaster (not that there's anything wrong with that), a visually dense and slow-moving Miyazaki film is like sitting on the beach or in the mountains and watching a great sunset.