Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

Moving, insightful, again Rankin Bass take the old legends of the Stable animals and turns it into a classic show. They never show this enough-yeah it can get you right THERE. This and the Little Drummer Boy are probably the best they did, besides the obvious trilogy of Rudolph, Frosty and Heatmizer.

Check this out. You won't be disappointed.

***1/2 outta ****

Rankin Bass made a lot of fine Christmas specials for kids. I know that every Christmas we are treated to all those classic animated cartoons like Rudolph and Santa and of course the Charlie Brown show, OH AND LETS NOT FORGET ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE. I'm a Sergeant in the US Army and I remember seeing this special about Nestor vaguely when I was a kid. I was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas in the Christmas of 95 and happened to catch it again on the Fox network I believe. I am a tough, professional soldier who fought in Desert Storm, and yet I almost cried watching this again. Poor little Nestor and the pain he had to suffer. His mother froze to death protecting him. She made the greatest sacrifice for her baby. I cannot help but think how many children are abused like Nestor was. This story, to me anyway, is a parable about child abuse. I read other accounts of people who cried when they saw it and that is exactly how it affected me. Nestor ultimately leads Mary and Joseph to Bethleham where our Savior is born. That is the beautiful part of the story and it is moving, but its also very sad as well.

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!

I was recently reacquainted with this film when The Fox Family Channel showed it as part of their '25 Days of Christmas' programming. I remembered that it made me cry as a kid. Surprisingly enough, it made me cry now too! The film is the story of an incredibly cute long-eared donkey named Nestor and his trials on the road to his place in history. Be prepared for some emotional hijacking as Nestor goes through some tough life experiences on the way there. I would recommend this film to any fan of RB stop-motion animation. It also deals with the origin of Christmas in a way most of their other films haven't, which is to say directly.

I had never even heard of Nestor The Long Eared Donkey until today. I was just about to change the channel when my wife came in and said we might as well watch it. She had never seen it either. It was a cute little story about a donkey who finds his entire existence hopeless until he is chosen by Mary and Joseph to carry Mary into Bethlehem. This is one of the few mainstream Christmas specials that actually acknowledges the birth of Christ, the true meaning of Christmas. That could very well be the reason it has gotten so little airplay over the years, networks fear it might be too religious. As a born again Christian, I was delighted to see it. The writing is not great, and the story of Nestor mirrors that of Rudolph a great deal. I agree with the previous reviewer that it might be much better if it were longer. It is a nice little Christmas story with good animation and can be enjoyed by the family during the holiday season.

John 3:16 ><>