Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

TV Movie
1977
TV-G
30m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977)

Stop Motion Animation Animation Drama Family Fantasy Musical

An outcast donkey in Roman era Judea with overlong ears finds his destiny on the way to Bethlehem.An outcast donkey in Roman era Judea with overlong ears finds his destiny on the way to Bethlehem.An outcast donkey in Roman era Judea with overlong ears finds his destiny on the way to Bethlehem.

Directors
- Jules Bass
- Arthur Rankin Jr.
Writer
- Romeo Muller
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

2.6K

YOUR RATING

Directors
- Jules Bass
- Arthur Rankin Jr.
Writer
- Romeo Muller
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos20

+ 14

Top cast8

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Roger Miller

Speiltoe
(voice)
…

Brenda Vaccaro

Tilly
(voice)

Paul Frees

Santa Claus
(voice)
…

Don Messick

Roman Soldier
(voice)

Linda Gary

Nestor's Mother
(voice)

Iris Rainer

Young Donkeys
(voice)

Shelly Hines

Young Donkeys
(voice)

Eric Stern

Nestor
(voice)

Directors
- Jules Bass
- Arthur Rankin Jr.
Writer
- Romeo Muller
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Features multiple non-speaking cameos from characters from other Rankin-Bass specials, including Jingle, Jangle, and Mrs. Claus from The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), the Three Wise Men from The Little Drummer Boy (1968), and Rudolph from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and other productions.

Goofs
The Roman guard pays Olaf the donkey dealer with a 20th-century American nickel. The nickel is upside-down and the viewer can see the outline of Thomas Jefferson's home "Monticello." However, the resolution of 1977-era television was poor compared to that of later decades. The signal was analog, there were no "flat screens," LCD panels or High Definition Television (HDTV) sets. The viewer watched TV on a cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. All this said, in 1977, the viewer would not have been able to discern that the coin was a U.S. nickel.

Quotes
Speiltoe: For Santa's donkey, it's sort of a night off. What? You never knew Santa had a donkey?

Connections
Featured in The Rifftrax Yule Log (2018)

Soundtracks
Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
Written by Gene Autry, Don Pfrimmer, and Dave Burgess
Performed by Roger Miller

User reviews43

Featured review

10/10

best thing... this... just brilliant

I'm a 30 year old single dude with a history of lot's of sin and fun. I came from the tough guy/ party crowd and bla, bla, bla. All that biznus aside: This is the best 22 minutes of purity and tender entertainment I have found. Everything is perfect in it's own imperfection. The songs are genius, and these guys should have made 50 more films, that's all. They get it. Religious or not - the emotional levels are brilliant. I drop a tear every time. Sure, I also saw it as a kid - and that means something - but stoned, drunk, sober - I get lost every time. THIS LIL' FILM ROCKS!!! Watch it. If you have kids... put down the hip hop album (to the trash) and stick this in the DVD player. Yes, the Jewish folk as well. He wants you to. ;)