Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

1977
6.9| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin-Bass. It was first aired in 1977, and its plot is similar to an earlier Rankin-Bass special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

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Reviews

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
meisterburger23 Nestor the Long Eared Christmas Donkey is a sweet, yet sad Christmas Special.The story starts with our narrator Santa's donkey who explains his ancestor Nestor, Nestor was a donkey born with very long ears. The other animals on the farm where he lived were mean and made fun of him. Olaf the donkey owner was also cruel and called him insulting names. The only person who was kind to Nestor was his mother. One night Roman soldiers come to the farm and want some young donkeys. Olaf shows them all the young donkeys and they take them. they take Nestor but he puts up a struggle causing his long ears to be shown. The angry soldiers take the young donkeys for free and leave Olaf furious that he lost a sale. Olaf tosses Nestor out into a blizzard and his mother has enough and breaks out of her pen to rescue her son. Homeless and alone Nestor and his mother find a drift bank and his mother digs a hole so she can cover Nestor up with herself to keep him warm. Tragically Nestor's mother dies in the blizzard sacrificing her own self for her young son. Nestor wanders the world alone until he meets a cherub called Tilly who tells Nestor he must travel to Bethlehem.After a journey Tilly takes Nestor to a donkey dealer and Nestor spends the next months being ridiculed and abused by the other animals. One night Mary and Joesph arrive and want to purchase Nestor because they've fallen with his gentle eyes. The dealer gives Nestor for free. Mary Joseph and Nestor travel thru the desert and get caught in a sand storm, but Nestor uses his ears to hear the voices of angels and gets the two to Bethlehem where in a manger Jesus is born. Nestor returns to his farm where the animals and Olaf greet him with loving embrace.This special is sad because Nestor's mother obviously dies and also there is a little abuse among the animals but it is forgiven in the end. I recommend this special for kids and nostalgia adults. It also teaches how that you have a purpose and God created you for that special purpose
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) This is one of my favorite Christmas television specials and it was made by the fairly famous Ranking and Bass almost 40 years ago. I am not religious at all, so the story is fine to me, but it does not leave a massive impact. The first reason why I love this so much is the main character. Nestor is really just as cute as it gets and I have always had a soft spot for donkeys. It's so much fun to watch this because he is in basically every single scene. And secondly, it's the music. Roger Miller adds a pretty unique touch with his singing here and it elevates the film a lot. I love his voice and it fits the tone of the film perfectly, be it the sad or the great moments. Shame on the other animals for bullying Nestor because of his rabbit ears. I felt they made him even much cuter than he already was. And there is some decent comedy in here as well, even if it's not immediately obvious. I found the scene hilarious at the end when Nestor uses his ears to ski down to the other animals. I saw this one here is actually a sequel to two Little Drummer Boy specials, but you don't need to watch them to enjoy this one here. In any case I enjoyed this animated Nestor movie a lot and highly recommend watching it.
TheLittleSongbird What a lovely Christmas special from Rankin'/Bass. In fact along with The Little Drummer Boy, it is the most touching of their specials. The visuals are beautiful, the characters look convincing, the colours are homely and the backgrounds are gorgeous. I also loved the music, especially the main theme which is so beautiful and resonates with me emotionally every time.Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey also has an engaging and poignant story that rarely has a wasted scene in its short duration, good pacing and strong writing. The characters are wonderful, all of them serve a purpose to the story, are likable and the chemistry between them is believable. Especially the title character, who is so sweet and likable that you feel sorry for him and his predicament immediately. The voice acting from the likes of Paul Frees, Don Messick and Roger Miller are top notch and fit their characters beautifully, while the ending makes me cry like a baby, same with the early parts of Nestor's life which are beautifully realised.In conclusion, poignant, honest and timeless Christmas special that still touches me. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Jacuss Gerdian This is about the only Christmas special that grasped my heart. But after watching Disney's Bambi and reading Felix Saltens original novel of Bambi. I noticed how for apart they were but how great Disney made the film. Most story books(Shrek, Pinnochio, etc.) have more story and random adventures that all can't be fit in. What does Disney do? He crops the story down a little to a (in respect) animated film. Looking at Nestor's special, I have to say they achieved the same thing Disney did, but there needs to be a bit more of the story. The rest of feature all depends on the "what-ifs" and "fanfic"(stories written by fans). Rankin/Bass did do a good job. But Nestor should have had a longer special to answer the questions we ask. "Why did he go back in the end" "Did Tilly purposely fall off the cloud?"