History WesternAnimation / NestorTheLongEaredChristmasDonkey

* AdaptationExpansion: As usual for a Rankin/Bass ChristmasSpecial. The original 1975 song just has Nestor suffering from AllOfTheOtherReindeer bullying because of his ears, but then becoming a hero by carrying Mary to Bethlehem. The special's plot points of Nestor being thrown out of the stable, his mother's death, and his journey with his cherub guide Tilly are all new additions.

* FantasticReligiousWeirdness: Santa’s donkey Spieltoe is the ancestor of the donkey who carried Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.

* FantasticReligiousWeirdness: The animation is about the Nativity donkey who carried Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.

* FantasticReligiousWeirdness

->''"Ears, Nestor!"''

The film is narrated by Santa Claus's donkey, Speiltoe, voiced by country singer Roger Miller. He tells the tale of a donkey with abnormally long ears named Nestor, who lived in the days of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire. Every animal in the stable disliked Nestor because of his ears, and they inadvertently lead to his exile from his farm. After losing his mother, Nestor makes a great, perilous journey with the help of a cherub, and soon goes to fulfill his destiny as an integral part in the birth of Jesus Himself.

* TheExile: Nestor gets banished by Olaf when he inadvertently causes the Roman soldiers to buy the donkeys for free.

* BearsAreBadNews: Downplayed, while traveling through the forest with Tilly, Nestor encounters a bear who makes fun of him, [[CowardlyLion but then he gets scared of a spider]] prompting Nestor to laugh at him in turn. Upon realizing that it was wrong to make fun of him, the bear just smiles and waves Nestor goodbye.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nestor_the_Long-Eared_Christmas_Donkey.jpg]]

Compare with Creator/{{Disney}}'s [[AnimatedFilms theatrical release]] ''Disney/TheSmallOne'' for a somewhat similar premise.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Nestor at first is made fun of his long ears by all other animals.

* KidsAreCruel: The other young donkeys on the farm are cruel to Nestor for his large ears.

''Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey'' is a ChristmasSpecial produced in StopMotion puppet animation (called "Animagic") by Creator/RankinBassProductions and based on the song of the same title by Gene Autry, Don Pfrimmer and Dave Burgess. It was first aired in 1977.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: After a lifetime of abuse, mockery, losing his mother, and other various hardships, Nestor becomes a revered hero in helping Mary get to Bethlehem and is welcomed back to his old home with open arms.

* {{Jerkass}}: Pretty much everyone is this to Nestor, except his mom, Tilly, Joseph, and Mary.

* YankTheDogsChain: Near the beginning after being treated nicely for once by the other animals during the day, that night a Roman centurion arrives to the farm to take Nestor and his peers away as beasts of burden. Which triggers a series of events that end up with his mother sacrificing her life for him.

* EasilyForgiven: At the end, Nestor goes home to the donkey breeder, who kicked him out into the cold, and the other animals who made fun of him, and seems perfectly happy to see them all now that they're welcoming him back as a hero.

* {{Expy}}: Nestor is arguably one of Rudolph[[note]]Although Rudolph explicitly exists in this movie[[/note]] (an animal with a peculiar trait that is ostracized by its peers because of it, until it proves useful and he is then acclaimed as a hero).

''Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey'' is a ChristmasSpecial produced in StopMotion puppet animation (called "Animagic") by Creator/RankinBassProductions. It was first aired in 1977.