A couple are quasi-picaresque, nearly plotless. I'm thinking of Kiki's Delivery Service. It feels cozy and injects little in the way of tension, compared to most animated family movies (that I've seen). Seems like an underrated approach but probably hard to pull off. In contrast, Princess Mononoke (admittedly, not for kids) has more going on and doesn't lack drama.
Some titles like Nausicaa have more of a traditional Hollywood script, with bad & good guys, some big tension and epic storylines.
The rest, and on my opinion the best ones, are like the author described: the plot runs on kindness, friendship and discoveries, which may feel “static” when you’re used to frenetic disney movies but makes for much more inspiring movies.
