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Do you think it is a good idea to even introduce anime to my younger sister? She is turning five and I would like to buy her some anime DVD's for her birthday. I have never shown her anime before because the stuff I watch is too mature to show to a youngster, and I only watch it in Japanese so she couldn't understand it anyway. If you can think of any dubbed anime that will be interesting and appropriate for a young girl to watch then please recommend it.

hmm probably stuff like pokemon, digimon?

When I was younger, my sisters and I enjoyed Kodocha (dubbed). It's a quirky and fun comedy/romance anime that I think is suitable for kids. I would even watch it to this day and I'd find it interesting.
Also, introduce some Miyazaki anime movies (spirited away,howls moving castle, ponyo), anime fan or not you'll fall in love with these films.

Start with feature-length stuff and films. Nausicaa is a good starter for all ages.

Yeah Pokemon has aged well she will like that.

Miyazaki is a good recomendation. I looked at Kodocha and this seems like something she would be into since she loves dolls and stuff.

Miyazaki is probably the best bet - Kiki's Delivery Service or My Neighbour Totoro are the ones I would go for, and the Disney dubs are pretty decent although I prefer the earlier Fox dub of Totoro. For non-Miyazaki Ghibli films The Cat Returns might be a good one.

I recently watched Welcome to the Space Show which I think is a really nice family film, clearly heavily inspired by Ghibli films but it is good in its own right too.

For TV series there might be some good magical girl shows, but sadly the dubbed versions of Cardcaptor Sakura is a bit weak - but at 5 years old it might be good to show her anyway, perhaps when she is older if she likes it she might be interested in the subbed ones. Also, I seem to remember the dubbed version of the film was pretty good - I don't remember it suffering from the same heavy editing the series did.

Angelic Layer and Kaleido Star could both be good choices too.

You could try azumanga daioh. Shit was good when I watched it at 12.
Had a great time laughing.

Pokemon and Digimon seem pretty obvious. I would recommend Cardcaptors and second anything by Miyazaki.

I reccomend starting her of with stuff like Ponyo and Arriety, and if she still wants to see more anime as she gets older, that's when you should start introducing her to action Anime.

school rumble, she'll idolize tenma.

Cardcaptor sakura http://myanimelist.net/anime/232/Cardcaptor_Sakura
The dubbed version would be suitable for a five year old.

When I have to babysit one of my cousins, I usually put a Miyazaki film on for them to watch; The dubs are pretty decent and most of them seem to enjoy the films quite a bit as well.
However, if you want to start off with a TV series, perhaps something along the lines of either Pokemon or Alps no Shoujo would fit the bill.

I suggest to start her off with Miyazaki films, Especially My Neigbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery service. When I was little I probably watched both of these movies over 15 times. Ponyo and Arriety are also done by the same person, and also perhaps Spirited Away although this might be scary for a 5 year old at certain parts so watch Spirited Away with her if you can. Also another safe bet might be shoujo anime that have little to no innuendos like Ouran Highschool or Fruits Basket.

ghilbi films?

In other words Miyazaki films... Studio Ghibli is the studio miyazaki started

Uh, Ouran has innuendo, just not in the same way way guys would see it - just because it's not a pantyshot doesn't mean it's not suggestive. FB also has cursing in it. And since FB also deals with abuse, it really is probably too much for a 5 year old.

Unfortunately, the amount of shows that come over for kids is.... limited.
Spider Riders
Digimon
Pokemon
Ghibli Films (Minus Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa)
Card Captor Sakura
Tokyo Mew Mew (4 Kids dubbed it, but even though it sucks for older viewers, she should find it entertaining)
Angelic Layer

are pretty much what's out there.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica - even a five year old could understand this show.

Yes, Absolutely. I only got into anime at age 18 and I kind of regret missing out during my childhood.
--------------------That's a bit young, so you'll have to go about it quite carefully.
Also, maybe make sure she likes anime before you buy it for her.
-------------------- Unfortunately, none of the G or PG rated shows on my list have dubs :(
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If you're willing to give PG-13 a shot... (These are fine for younger audiences, but probably less enjoyable below age 9)
...it might be best to wait a few years with these, but definitely keep them in mind:
Clannad + Clannad:After Story
Yumeria
(There are others that would be better for younger audiences, but are not dubbed) :(
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The best thing would be to watch it yourself and consider whether you would have liked it when you were that age.
I always try to relate what I would have liked to the stage I was at in school.

...and remember, whatever you do, don't let her watch School Days.
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You're definitely not the first to ask this, so you can help yourself by googling phrases like "Anime for young children"
...You may find this result useful: A Parent's Guide to Anime

This is a decent list but does have some glaringly wrong ratings - Grave of the Fireflies is rated 'Great for Family Viewing', for one. So for every anime in that list, I suggest double-checking the content on another site.