Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
Encyclopedia
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
.
, Spieltote, voiced by Roger Miller
. He tells the tale of a donkey with abnormally long ears named Nestor, who lived in the days of the Roman Empire
. Every animal in the stable disliked Nestor because of his ears. One day the animals in the stable are celebrating the winter solstice
. Nestor's mother gives socks to Nestor to cover his ears.
That night when Nestor is asleep, soldiers come from the Roman Empire. They pick a bunch of donkeys, including Nestor, but not his mother. Nestor tries to get away and one of the soldiers grabs the socks on Nestor's ears. They come off. The soldiers thought the owner of the stable was trying to trick them. The owner, Olaf, says he will give them Nestor for free, but the soldiers are angry so they force him to give him all the donkeys for free and do not take Nestor. The soldiers leave. Olaf is angry at Nestor and he throws Nestor out the door, saying that he doesn't care if Nestor freezes to death and tells him to never come back. Nestor's mother escapes the stable and finds him. There is a blizzard
, so Nestor's mother finds shelter and uses her body to cover Nestor up. He wakes up in the morning to find his mother frozen to death. Nestor cries.
Later, Nestor meets a cherub
called Tilly. She says they need to travel to Bethlehem
: "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 you will save another, as your mother once saved you." They travel for many months. When they finally get to the outskirts of Bethlehem, Tilly tells Nestor to wait. Nestor finds a stable but still nobody will buy him.
One day Mary
and Joseph
visit. Mary is expecting a child, and they do not have much money. They take Nestor because of his "gentle eyes", but are caught in a sandstorm
. 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 angel
s. Nestor guides Mary and Joseph through the storm, wrapping Mary in his ears. They soon arrive at Bethlehem and they find a stable, where Mary gives birth to Jesus
. Nestor finds his way back home, where he is considered a hero.
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
produced in stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
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
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass. It first aired Sunday, December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the USA, and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour...
.
Plot
The film is narrated by Santa Claus's donkeyDonkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
, Spieltote, voiced by Roger Miller
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
. He tells the tale of a donkey with abnormally long ears named Nestor, who lived in the days of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Every animal in the stable disliked Nestor because of his ears. One day the animals in the stable are celebrating the winter solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
. Nestor's mother gives socks to Nestor to cover his ears.
That night when Nestor is asleep, soldiers come from the Roman Empire. They pick a bunch of donkeys, including Nestor, but not his mother. Nestor tries to get away and one of the soldiers grabs the socks on Nestor's ears. They come off. The soldiers thought the owner of the stable was trying to trick them. The owner, Olaf, says he will give them Nestor for free, but the soldiers are angry so they force him to give him all the donkeys for free and do not take Nestor. The soldiers leave. Olaf is angry at Nestor and he throws Nestor out the door, saying that he doesn't care if Nestor freezes to death and tells him to never come back. Nestor's mother escapes the stable and finds him. There is a blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
, so Nestor's mother finds shelter and uses her body to cover Nestor up. He wakes up in the morning to find his mother frozen to death. Nestor cries.
Later, Nestor meets a cherub
Cherub
A cherub is a type of spiritual being mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and cited later on in the Christian biblical canons, usually associated with the presence of God...
called Tilly. She says they need to travel to Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
: "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 you will save another, as your mother once saved you." They travel for many months. When they finally get to the outskirts of Bethlehem, Tilly tells Nestor to wait. Nestor finds a stable but still nobody will buy him.
One day Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
and Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
visit. Mary is expecting a child, and they do not have much money. They take Nestor because of his "gentle eyes", but are caught in a sandstorm
Sandstorm
Sandstorm can refer to:* Dust storm, a storm caused by strong winds and blowing sand or dust* "Sandstorm" , a trance song by Darude* "Sandstorm" , a song on Cast's debut album, All Change...
. 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 angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s. Nestor guides Mary and Joseph through the storm, wrapping Mary in his ears. They soon arrive at Bethlehem and they find a stable, where Mary gives birth to Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. Nestor finds his way back home, where he is considered a hero.
Voice cast
- Roger MillerRoger MillerRoger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
- Spieltoe/Narrator
- Shelly Hines - Nestor
- Brenda VaccaroBrenda VaccaroBrenda Buell Vaccaro is an American stage, television and film actress.-Early life:Vaccaro was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Christine M. and Mario A. Vaccaro , both of whom were pioneers in Italian cuisine...
- Tilly - Paul FreesPaul FreesPaul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
- Olaf/Donkey Dealer - Linda GaryLinda GaryLinda Gary was an American voice actor and voice-over artist, who has worked on multiple animated projects.-Personal life:Linda Gary Dewoskin was born in California on November 4, 1944....
- Nestor's mother - Don MessickDon MessickDonald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
- Roman Soldier
DVD details
Released with The Year Without a Santa ClausThe Year Without a Santa Claus
The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 Rankin/Bass stop motion animated television special. It usually airs during the Christmas season on United States television. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name, illustrated by Kurt Werth.-Summary:The show is set in the...
- Release date: October 31, 2000
- Full Screen
- Region: 1
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Audio tracks: English