All the neighborhood children recruited to help 'Santa' with recovering his loot are referred to by their real life names on screen.
This was the first time Edward Asner 'played' Santa - albeit as a crook masquerading as Santa in order to recover stolen loot. He would go on to play Santa for real in numerous titles such as Elf (2003) and Santa Stole Our Dog: A Merry Doggone Christmas! (2017) as well as several voice portrayals.
Edward Asner's Disney Debut. He would later lend his voice as Carl Fredirickson in Up.
Edward Asner would later play Santa in 2003 Elf.