Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977 TV special)

E791311

Christmas special animated television film stop-motion animated film television special

Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey is a 1977 Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated Christmas television special that tells the story of a gentle donkey with unusually long ears who plays a humble but crucial role in the Nativity.

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All labels observed (1)

Label	Occurrences
Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977 TV special) canonical	2

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T9330702 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977 TV special)
Context triple: [Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, notableWork, Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977 TV special)]

A. Rankin/Bass Christmas specials
Rankin/Bass Christmas specials are a series of classic animated holiday television programs, many using stop-motion "Animagic" techniques, that became enduring staples of American Christmas pop culture.
B. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 TV special)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 TV special) is an animated television adaptation of Dr. Seuss's classic Christmas book, featuring the Grinch's attempt to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
C. Elf (television special)
Elf (television special) is an animated TV adaptation of the popular 2003 Christmas comedy film "Elf," retelling the story of Buddy the Elf in a family-friendly holiday format.
D. The Magical Christmas Horse
The Magical Christmas Horse is a holiday-themed mystery novel in Mary Higgins Clark’s Alvirah and Willy series, blending family drama, suspense, and Christmas spirit.
E. A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a 1965 animated television special based on Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip, renowned for its jazz score by Vince Guaraldi and its heartfelt, anti-commercial take on the true meaning of Christmas.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977 TV special)
Target entity description: Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey is a 1977 Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated Christmas television special that tells the story of a gentle donkey with unusually long ears who plays a humble but crucial role in the Nativity.

A. Rankin/Bass Christmas specials
Rankin/Bass Christmas specials are a series of classic animated holiday television programs, many using stop-motion "Animagic" techniques, that became enduring staples of American Christmas pop culture.
B. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 TV special)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 TV special) is an animated television adaptation of Dr. Seuss's classic Christmas book, featuring the Grinch's attempt to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
C. Elf (television special)
Elf (television special) is an animated TV adaptation of the popular 2003 Christmas comedy film "Elf," retelling the story of Buddy the Elf in a family-friendly holiday format.
D. The Magical Christmas Horse
The Magical Christmas Horse is a holiday-themed mystery novel in Mary Higgins Clark’s Alvirah and Willy series, blending family drama, suspense, and Christmas spirit.
E. A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a 1965 animated television special based on Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip, renowned for its jazz score by Vince Guaraldi and its heartfelt, anti-commercial take on the true meaning of Christmas.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (45)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Christmas special ⓘ animated television film ⓘ stop-motion animated film ⓘ television special ⓘ
animationStyle	Animagic ⓘ
animationTechnique	stop-motion animation ⓘ
associatedWith	Rankin/Bass Christmas specials ⓘ
basedOn	original story by Rankin/Bass ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
distributionFormat	television broadcast ⓘ
featuresAnthropomorphicAnimals	true ⓘ
genre	Christmas television special ⓘ family film ⓘ fantasy film ⓘ religious animation ⓘ
holiday	Christmas ⓘ
intendedBroadcastSeason	Christmas season ⓘ
laterDistributionFormat	home video ⓘ
mainCharacter	Nestor ⓘ
moralLesson	everyone has a purpose ⓘ what makes you different can be a gift ⓘ
narrativeConnection	Nativity story ⓘ
narrativeRoleOfNestor	helps Mary and Joseph reach Bethlehem ⓘ
narrativeSetting	Bethlehem ⓘ ancient Roman Empire ⓘ desert ⓘ
originalLanguage	English ⓘ
originalNetwork	ABC ⓘ
portraysEvent	birth of Jesus ⓘ journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem ⓘ
productionCompany	Rankin/Bass Productions ⓘ
protagonistSpecies	donkey ⓘ
protagonistTrait	long ears ⓘ
releaseDecade	1970s ⓘ
releaseYear	1977 ⓘ
religiousContext	Christian ⓘ
similarWork	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964 TV special) ⓘ
targetAudience	children ⓘ family ⓘ
theme	Christianity ⓘ Nativity of Jesus ⓘ linked to: Nativity of Christ acceptance of differences ⓘ humility ⓘ self-sacrifice ⓘ
title	Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Rankin/Bass Christmas specials → notableWork → Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977 TV special) ⓘ

Animagic → notableWork → Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977 TV special) ⓘ

All labels observed (1)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (45)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited