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Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

Back in the days of the Roman Empire, a small donkey is born with VERY long ears, that keep getting him into trouble...

1977 · 25 min · Animation
6.0 Niche
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Animation Family Drama

Nestor the donkey is a bit of an oddity--his long ears are enough for six donkeys and stretch all the way to the ground. One night, when Nestor is locked out in the cold, he begins to wander the desert.

Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Year
1977
Studio
Rankin/Bass Productions

Trivia & behind the scenes

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Origins

The special is based on the 1975 song 'Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey' written by Gene Autry, Don Pfrimmer and Dave Burgess.

Origins

The story is presented as a legend told by Spieltoe, Santa's donkey, who recounts the tale of his ancestor Nestor who lived during the days of the Roman Empire.

Casting

The voice cast included singer-songwriter Roger Miller as Spieltoe and Brenda Vaccaro as the cherub Tilly.

Casting

Paul Frees voiced multiple characters in the special, including Olaf the stable owner, a donkey dealer, and Santa Claus.

Filming

The special used Rankin/Bass's signature 'Animagic' stop-motion puppet technique.

Filming

This was the second and final Rankin/Bass 'Animagic' production supervised by Japanese animator Satoshi Fujino, alongside Akikazu Kono, after his earlier work on The Little Drummer Boy, Book II.

Trivia

The special premiered on ABC on December 3, 1977.

Trivia

It was later released on home video in 2000 paired with The Year Without a Santa Claus, and included in The Complete Rankin/Bass Christmas Collection on DVD in 2022 and Blu-ray in 2023.

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