Michael_Elliott Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) *** (out of 4) Another winning Christmas short from the Bass-Rankin team. This one here centers on a donkey named Nestor who is constantly being picked on due to his large ears. All of this changes when Joseph and Mary come upon him and ask for his help. NESTOR, THE LONG-EARED Christmas DONKEY is certainly a cute little film that features the wonderful stop-motion animation that really brings all the characters to life. When one watches this movie they can't help but think of DUMBO and BAMBI as this film features stuff that is very similar to them. As with BAMBI, there's a death scene here that's done in a pretty dark and sad way and I'm sure this here might upset several kids who were to watch it. Still, I think the heart of the film is still here and on full display. The story itself is quite touching and the rise of Nestor, while predictable, is still fun to watch. There are some terrific songs here sung by Roger Miller who also does a fabulous job with the narration.

Woodyanders Tiny ostracized donkey Nestor has trouble fitting in because of his abnormally large ears. One fateful day Nestor gets thrown out into a raging blizzard, loses his mother, and hence has to fend for himself. Nestor embarks on a journey to Bethlehem. He's guided along the way by his helpful guardian cherub Tilly (given an endearingly hoarse voice by Brenda Vaccaro). This lovely, moving and uplifting fable about discovering your self-worth and achieving your destiny benefits greatly from its engagingly warm and simple story that has nice elements of the Disney classics "Bambi" and "Dumbo," a pleasant and positive tone, cool stop-motion animation, and a marvelous array of catchy and folksy songs (the titular number is especially charming and tuneful). Country singer/songwriter Roger Miller makes for a wonderfully amiable narrator and sings the aforementioned songs with his trademark infectiously hearty aplomb. Legendary voice actor supreme Paul Frees lends his gloriously mellifluous golden throat as both Nestor's cruel owner Olaf and a sleazy donkey dealer. Granted, this particular yuletide TV special starts out pretty sad and depressing, but eventually culminates in a truly touching happy ending. A sweet, sparkling little gem of a show.

souleander Despite the shortness of this animated Christmas film it is full of moral stories of love and acceptance. It one of the most overlooked Christmas animated films. There are only so many times over a Christmas holiday month I can stand to watch "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and all those. Its a breath of fresh air to stick this one in there. I had been unable to see it for the last two Christmas Eve's because the stations in the area do not play it. This has left me slightly heartbroken because of all the family memories that go with it. I hope I can help revive it so my children someday down the road may see it and enjoy it. It really has more of the meaning of Christmas behind it and in the story. Maybe if more people were to see it they would remember the meaning of Christmas and the spirit of the holiday. Maybe others could pass this joy onto their next generations.

ann_outsider For those of you who have never seen this show, please try to find it on DVD. I bought my favorite Rankin/Bass Christmas shows on DVD this year. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this favorite from my childhood on the same DVD as "A Year Without a Santa Claus" (another real fave of mine).Sure, there are some sappy moments in Nestor, but the story is very touching and heart-warming. I wish there were more Christmas shows on television brave enough to acknowledge the birth of our lord and savior Jesus Christ as the reason for the season.And a short response to another poster about the blizzards in Rome... the beginning of the story sets it in Europe during the Roman rule and occupation... the cherub then guides Nestor over a long period of time to a stable closer to Bethlehem. As a child I never picked up on Nestor having to wait for a while to go to Bethlehem, but seeing it as an adult it touched me that we all at times have to wait for our opportunity to serve in some way and it might not come when we want it to, but when our Father does. But I digress.... a great Christmas treat!