''Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey'' is a 1977

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It premiered on ABC on December 3, 1977. The story is based on the 1975 song of the same name, written by Gene Autry, Don Pfrimmer and Dave Burgess.

Plot

Santa Claus' donkey, Spieltoe, narrates the story of a donkey named Nestor with abnormally long ears, who lived in the days of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. Every animal in the stable ridicules Nestor because of his ears. This seemingly comes to a halt during the celebration of

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter ...

. Nestor's mother gives socks to Nestor to cover his ears. That night, soldiers arrive from the Roman Empire in need of donkeys. After removing the socks from Nestor’s ears, the soldiers think that the owner of the stable, Olaf, was trying to trick them. Olaf offers to give them Nestor for free, but the soldiers instead take all of the other donkeys for free but leave Nestor. Enraged, Olaf throws Nestor out into a blizzard, where Nestor's mother sacrifices her life to shield him from the cold. Later, Nestor meets a cherub named Tilly. She says they need to travel to

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, telling him "Your ears can do wondrous things no other ears can do. The sounds they hear will guide you on a path that's straight and true, and then you will save another, as your mother once saved you." They travel across the desert sands for many months, and when they finally get to the outskirts of Bethlehem, Tilly tells Nestor to wait. Even though he finds a rundown old stable, nobody buys him.

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

are expecting Jesus, they take Nestor because of his "gentle eyes", but are caught in a

sandstorm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transpo ...

. In the midst of the storm, Nestor hears Tilly's voice, but recognizes it as his mother's, and she tells him to follow the voices of the angels. Nestor guides Mary and Joseph through the storm, wrapping Mary in his ears, soon arriving at Bethlehem. They find the stable where Mary subsequently gives birth to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, Nestor finds his way back to his home stable where he is hailed by Olaf and the other animals.

Cast

* Roger Miller as Spieltoe * Eric Stern as Nestor *

Brenda Vaccaro Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in area ...

as Tilly *

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...

as Olaf the Stable Owner, a Donkey Dealer, and Santa Claus *

Linda Gary Linda Gary (born Linda Gary Dewoskin, November 4, 1944 – October 5, 1995) was an American actress. Career Live-action appearances Gary worked as a voice-over artist in animation and also appeared in two live-action films, 1977's ''Joyride T ...

as Nestor's Mother * Iris Rainer and Shelly Hines as Nestor's friends * Don Messick as a Roman Soldier *

Taryn Davies Taryn is a feminine name of various meanings. Notable people Notable people with the name include: * Taryn Davidson (born 1991), Canadian model * Taryn Fiebig (1972–2021), Australian opera and musical theatre soprano and cellist * Taryn Fos ...

as Mary * Harry Maurice Rosner as Joseph

Crew

* Produced and Directed by

Arthur Rankin Jr. Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animatio ...

and Jules Bass * Assistant Producer: Masaki Iizuka * Written by

Romeo Muller Romeo Earl Muller, Jr. (August 7, 1928 – December 30, 1992) was an American screenwriter and actor most remembered for his screenplays for the Rankin/Bass holiday specials including ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy ...

* Based on the Song by Gene Autry, Don Pfrimmer and Dave Burgess * Additional Music and Lyrics by

Maury Laws Maury Laws (December 6, 1923 – March 28, 2019) was an American television and film composer from Burlington, North Carolina. Biography In his teens, Laws performed in local country, jazz and dance bands as a singer and guitarist in his home st ...

and Jules Bass * Design by Paul Coker, Jr. * "Animagic" Supervisors: Akikazu Kono and Satoshi Fujino * Sound Recorders: John Curcio and Joe Jorgensen * Music Arranged and Conducted by

Production

In addition to Akikazu Kono, this is Rankin/Bass' second and last "Animagic" stop motion puppet production to be supervised by another Japanese animator, Satoshi Fujino, who also previously worked on '' The Little Drummer Boy, Book II''.

Home video

The special was released in 2000 with ''

The Year Without a Santa Claus ''The Year Without a Santa Claus'' is a 1974 stop motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name. It is narrated by Shirley Booth (her final ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey 1977 animated films 1977 films 1977 in American television 1970s American animated films 1977 television specials 1970s animated short films 1970s American television specials American Broadcasting Company television specials American children's animated fantasy films 1970s animated television specials Christmas characters Nativity of Jesus on television Films scored by Maury Laws Films about donkeys Films about the Nativity of Jesus Television shows directed by Jules Bass Television shows directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. Stop-motion animated short films Rankin/Bass Productions television specials Stop-motion animated television shows Television shows written by Romeo Muller