11 Forgotten Christmas Specials You Probably Haven't Seen

9. Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey I could easily do this entire article mentioning only Rankin-Bass specials - they are as linked to Christmas in the American consciousness as fruitcake and credit-card debt. They delivered a steady stream of holiday jollity, in stop-motion and traditional animation format decades, but not every one was a winner. Nestor had all the hallmarks of a winner - another Gene Autry song as the base, a script by Romeo Muller, R-B's personal Shakespeare, a popular performer as the narrator (Roger Miller, who performed a similar role in Disney's Robin Hood), and a mutated main character. Nestor, as you may have been able to tell from the title, had preternaturally long ears, which brought him much derision. But as with the popular reindeer with whom they draw a parallel in the titular ditty, his malady comes in handy - he is selected by Mary and Joseph to carry her to Bethlehem, and when they get caught in a sandstorm, she shields her with his excessive ears. It's a good story, but it was a tad too tied to the religious side of the holiday, and as the desire to stick with the fun, gift-centric side increased, most of the more faith-based stories lost ground.