| Director: | Jules Bass Arthur Rankin Jr. |
| Narrated: | Roger Miller |
| Composer: | Maury Laws Jules Bass |
| Country: | United States Japan |
| Language: | English |
| Producer: | Jules Bass Arthur Rankin Jr. |
| Cinematography: | Akikazu Kono Satoshi Fujino |
| Runtime: | 24 minutes |
| Company: | Rankin/Bass Productions |
| Network: | ABC |
Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey is a 1977 Japanese-American Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It premiered on ABC on December 3, 1977.[1] The story is based on the 1975 song of the same name, written by Gene Autry, Don Pfrimmer and Dave Burgess.[2]
Santa Claus' donkey, Spieltoe, tells the story of Nestor, his ancestor who lived in a stable during the Roman Empire. Nestor is teased by other animals and mistreated by Olaf, the stable owner, for his unusually long ears. One night, when Roman soldiers come to the stable to buy donkeys, they dismiss Nestor as an imperfect misfit and leave him behind while taking all the other donkeys for free. Enraged, Olaf casts Nestor out into the frigid cold. Nestor's mother finds him and shields from the harsh weather with her own body, freezing to death in the process.
The next day, Nestor meets a cherub named Tilly, who says that they need to travel to Bethlehem. When they reach the outskirts of the town, Tilly returns to Heaven, instructing Nestor to wait. When Mary and Joseph are expecting Jesus, 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 angels. Nestor guides Mary and Joseph through the storm, while wrapping Mary in his ears to keep her warm. They arrive in Bethlehem and Mary gives birth to Jesus, Nestor finds his way back to his home stable where he is hailed as hero by Olaf and the other animals.
In addition to Akikazu Kono, this is Rankin/Bass' second and last "Animagic" stop motion puppet production to be supervised by another Japanese animator, Satoshi Fujino, who also previously worked on The Little Drummer Boy, Book II.
The special was released in 2000 with The Year Without a Santa Claus. It was later included in The Complete Rankin/Bass Christmas Collection DVD in 2022 and Blu-ray in 2023.