What's your approach to Studio Ghibli movies?

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Well, my approach upon encountering amazing films... and, I have yet to encounter anything less than that in a Ghibli movie, whether from two decades ago or recent... well, my approach may be weird, as I realize some people may simply consume them all ASAP, just like they'd consume candy. Not saying that's a bad thing, if it works for you... but I actually have an active fear of being unable to 'get' all the amazing stuff - I've only seen four so far due to this, but I assume they will all eventually come to me one way or another. It's not just frequency, though...

Alright, so, I think we can have a consensus that even if you're sleepy or drunk you'll always enjoy such movies... just like their music is likely to catch your attention, whether you're seeking it out or not (and that is, very naturally, how I found out about these masterpieces of art)... but, has anyone here tried to watch them after smoking cannabis? What's 'amazing' becomes transcendental... incredible emotions become slices of heaven.

And so, I've *kind of* resolved to watch these movies not only at their right time, but while high too... I'm sure that watching them for the first time while sober is entertaining, and there is a realistic potential of enjoying them even more if the second viewing is done while stoned, but I think, as first impressions count, it will inevitably be much more transcendetal if done on the first try. (And seriously, if you've never tried it while watching Ghibli movies you've no idea how utterly amazing emotions can be at their most positive, concentrated levels.)

Studio Ghibli is the best studio ever. Period. And Miyazaki the best film-maker of family movies. We turned into a family ritual to watch his movies. We watch them together as a family when we are all relaxed and with enough time to enjoy them. We have watched about 20 titles, from "My neighbor Totoro" to "Whispers of the heart". Right now we are watching the TV series: we finished "Heidi" about 2 weeks ago, and started "Future boy Conan" last week. It is a real pleasure to watch anything Miyazaki has ever made. I love his ever-present "lets save our world" message. Since we have made a ritual to watch these movies together as a family, I do not think watching them on drugs is a good idea. And I have never tried cannabis. I do not even smoke. So, I think I pass...

Seeing Ghibli movies for the first time as a child is magical.

Seeing Ghibli movies for the first time as an adult makes you sentimental for those times when everything was "magical".

I agree with that 100%, Ruhig.

So far, the only Ghibli films I've seen are Spirited Away (my favorite one so far), Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro (the Disney dub from the 2000s...No offense to anybody, but as adorable as the Fanning sisters are, I think I'm going to try to look for the other dubbed version from the early 90s and watch that instead....nothing against the Fanning sisters or Disney, I promise! ) and the most recent one I saw was The Secret World of Arietty. I'd really like to see Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa at some point.

ETA: Whoooops, totally forgot to answer the OP's question... I don't really have a particular "approach" to watching Ghibli films; I guess I just watch them when I'm in a kind of nostalgic mood (like Ruhig said), or in the mood for fantasy or an "escape."

That magic is the reason I won't just watch them whenever... and why I think, in my opinion, being in an altered state as I described is a necessity for an absolute immersion in the fantasy. Essentially recreating the childhood mystery.

They make the most spirited and the most beautifully painted anime movies EVER.