Nestor, the long -- Eared Christmas donkey - wikipedia Nestor, the long -- Eared Christmas donkey This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2009 ) Nestor the Long - Eared Christmas Donkey Based on Nestor, the Long - Eared Christmas Donkey by Gene Autry Don Pfrimmer Dave Burgess Written by Romeo Muller Directed by Jules Bass Arthur Rankin, Jr. Starring Roger Miller Brenda Vaccaro Paul Frees Don Messick Linda Gary Narrated by Roger Miller Composer ( s ) Maury Laws Jules Bass Country of origin United States Japan Original language ( s ) English Production Producer ( s ) Jules Bass Arthur Rankin, Jr. Masaki Iizuka ( assistant producer ) Cinematography Akikazu Kono Satoshi Fujino Running time 24 minutes Production company ( s ) Rankin / Bass Productions Distributor Warner Bros. Television Release Original network ABC Original release December 3, 1977 Chronology Followed by Rudolph 's Shiny New Year External links Website Nestor the Long - Eared Christmas Donkey is a 1977 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin / Bass Productions. It originally premiered on ABC on December 3, 1977. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Crew 4 Production 5 DVD details 6 External links Plot Santa Claus 's donkey, Spieltoe, narrates the story of a donkey named Nestor with abnormally long ears, who lived in the days of the Roman Empire. Every animal in the stable ridicules 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 arrive 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 think that the owner of the stable, Olaf, was trying to trick them. Olaf says he will give them Nestor for free, but the soldiers force him to give him all of the donkeys for free and do not take Nestor. After the soldiers leave a furious Olaf throws Nestor out into the storm and leaves him to die. Nestor 's mother escapes the stable and finds him. As a blizzard rages outside, and there is no indoor shelter to be had, Nestor 's mother finds a small cove out of the wind and uses her body to shield her son from the storm. The next morning, Nestor wakes up to find that his mother has died, having sacrificed herself to save him. Later, Nestor meets a cherub named Tilly. She says they need to travel to Bethlehem, telling him `` 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 then you will save another, as your mother once saved you. '' They travel across the desert sands for many months, and when they finally get to the outskirts of Bethlehem, Tilly tells Nestor to wait. Even though he finds a rundown old stable, nobody buys 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 angels. Nestor guides Mary and Joseph through the storm, wrapping Mary in his ears, soon arriving at Bethlehem. They find a proper stable, where Mary subsequently gives birth to Jesus after which Nestor finds his way back home, where he is considered a hero. Cast Roger Miller as Spieltoe Shelly Hines as Nestor Brenda Vaccaro as Tilly Paul Frees as Olaf the Stable Owner, a Donkey Dealer and Santa Claus Linda Gary as Nestor 's Mother Iris Rainer as Nestor 's friend Don Messick as a Roman Soldier Crew Produced and Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass Assistant Producer : Masaki Iizuka Written by Romeo Muller Based on the Song by Gene Autry, Don Pfrimmer and Dave Burgess Additional Music and Lyrics by Maury Laws and Jules Bass Design by Paul Coker, Jr. `` Animagic '' Supervisors : Akikazu Kono and Satoshi Fujino Sound Recorders : John Curcio and Joe Jorgensen Music Arranged and Conducted by Maury Laws Production 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. DVD details Released with The Year Without a Santa Claus Release date : October 31, 2000 Full Screen Region : 1 Aspect Ratio : 1.33 : 1 Audio tracks : English External links Nestor, The Long - Eared Christmas Donkey on IMDb Rankin / Bass Productions Television specials Return to Oz Rudolph the Red - Nosed Reindeer The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show The Ballad of Smokey the Bear Cricket on the Hearth Mouse on the Mayflower The Little Drummer Boy Frosty the Snowman The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians Santa Claus Is Comin ' To Town Here Comes Peter Cottontail The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye : The Emperor 's New Clothes Mad Mad Mad Monsters Willie Mays and the Say - Hey Kid The Red Baron That Girl in Wonderland ' Twas the Night Before Christmas The Year Without a Santa Claus The First Christmas : The Story of the First Christmas Snow The First Easter Rabbit Frosty 's Winter Wonderland Rudolph 's Shiny New Year The Little Drummer Boy, Book II The Easter Bunny Is Comin ' to Town The Hobbit Nestor, the Long - Eared Christmas Donkey The Stingiest Man in Town Jack Frost Rudolph and Frosty 's Christmas in July The Return of the King Pinocchio 's Christmas The Leprechaun 's Christmas Gold The Flight of Dragons The Coneheads The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus The Wind in the Willows Santa Baby ! Feature films Willy McBean and his Magic Machine The Daydreamer The Wacky World of Mother Goose Mad Monster Party ? King Kong Escapes Marco The Last Dinosaur The Bermuda Depths The Bushido Blade The Ivory Ape The Last Unicorn The Sins of Dorian Gray The King and I Television series The New Adventures of Pinocchio Tales of the Wizard of Oz The King Kong Show The Smokey Bear Show The Tomfoolery Show The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show The Jackson 5ive Show The Osmonds Kid Power Festival of Family Classics ThunderCats SilverHawks TigerSharks Karate Kat The Comic Strip Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nestor,_the_Long -- Eared_Christmas_Donkey&oldid = 817194804 '' Categories : 1977 animated films 1977 in American television 1977 television specials 1970s animated short films 1970s American television specials American Broadcasting Company television specials Animated television specials Christmas characters Nativity of Jesus on television Fictional donkeys Films scored by Maury Laws Films about donkeys Films about the Nativity of Jesus Films directed by Jules Bass Films directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. Stop - motion animated short films Rankin / Bass Productions television specials Hidden categories : Articles lacking sources from January 2009 All articles lacking sources Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 26 December 2017, at 20 : 26. 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Question: when was nestor the long eared donkey made
Answer: 1977