25 animated holiday movies that’ll make you feel like a kid again

Nestor The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

Notable cast: No well-known voice actors

What it’s about: This film is another Christmas special that was produced by Rankin/Bass. It premiered on ABC in 1977. The movie takes place in Judea during the Roman Empire and a donkey, who has lived a hard life full of unkindness, discovers kindness and meaning as he travels to Bethlehem and plays a part in the biblical Christmas story.

Why you should watch it for the holidays: This movie is similar in some ways to The Little Drummer Boy. The style of the film and the setting are somewhat similar, but the characters in this film are very different. Many kids animated shows and books feature animals as it’s a great way to capture children’s attention and tell a story. And, to be honest, even as adults, it’s sometimes easier to empathize with animals than other humans.

This movie is another stop-motion animated holiday special, but this one came out in the ’70s instead of in the ’60s. While it might not be as much of a classic as, say, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or even Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, you’ll definitely love Nestor and feel a lot of empathy for him. Not going to lie, it’s a little rough seeing people be so mean to him. But, luckily this is a children’s movie, so everything works out well for this lovable donkey in the end.

This is another film that features the nativity story quite strongly, so just giving that information for anyone who wants to skip any religion holiday movies this time of year. We totally respect that.