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 ****

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. ;)

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.

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!

This is one of my favorites of the shorter Christmas specials. I bought it several years ago and it has made me cry since I was a little kid, but I think I cry even more now. The early years of Nestor's life are the parts that are really heart-wrenching. It's the same old story of a character who is made fun of unmercilessly by his peers because of a different physical attribute, in this case it happens to be his abnormally long ears. All the while in the background the same song plays throughout, a pretty little tune explaining Nestor's plight, and it only makes you cry more. By the time it gets around to the part where he is chosen to carry Mary to Bethlehem, I am a blubbering idiot. But this gem of a Christmas special is well worth making it part of your collection or even catching it on FAM's 25 Days of Christmas. They show it every year and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves Christmas and is sentimental like me. Also great for kids.