A 1989 U.S. home video release was "substantially re-edited and abridged" to "remove all seemingly objectionable material." This version is missing all material involving Pitch. The running time was reduced to 63 minutes and the film retitled "Santa Claus: The Motion Picture" in order to cash in on the big budget production Santa Claus: The Movie (1985).
Some video versions cut scenes with African kids.
In some versions, during the scene in which Devil Pitch is introduced, footage of condemned souls being marched into Hell has been removed.