Put this title among the “movies I didn’t know were based on a book.”
I watched the 101 Dalmatians as a child, but don’t remember anything beyond the basic storyline – so I can’t at all remark on the differences between the book and the movie.
What I can remark on is how very delightful this book is.
The story is told in third person omniscient, primarily following Pongo and Missus, the mother and father dalmatians who go off to search for their fifteen missing pups.
Pongo is a quite intelligent dog, capable of understanding most human speech and of engaging in higher reasoning. It is he who puts two and two together and figures out that it is Cruella de Vil who has stolen the puppies – and that she intends not to sell them but to turn them into furs!
Missus is a simple but loving dog who doesn’t know her right paw from her left and who can be a bit vain; but who valiantly protects her children.
Watching the relationship between Pongo and Missus was definitely my favorite part of the book – Pongo eager to protect his wife, Missus eager to help her husband. Again and again along their journey, one or the other meets a trial of some sort (whether a child that makes them very angry, an injury, or simply the lack of food) and the two rely upon one another to sort through their various emotions, thoughts, and reactions. The two reflect a marriage not often seen in fiction – and especially not in children’s fiction (where many parents seem absent) – a marriage of true partnership and service. It was beautiful.
Of course, I couldn’t help but notice a bit of old-fashioned sexism – not just in Pongo and Missus’s relative levels of intelligence but in the way the girl and boy pups are described as able or not able to tolerate cold and so on. I suppose I could raise a stink about it and let it spoil the story for me – but I don’t feel up to ire, and there are so many strong redeeming values to this story that make that smudge fade into the background. While Missus is not incredibly intelligent, she is not entirely a stereotype – and she has plenty of admirable qualities. So I’m ignoring the occasional chauvinism and choosing to just enjoy this book.
And enjoy it I did. A couple particularly enjoyable notes:
Cruella’s cloak is described (several times) as an “absolutely simple white mink cloak” – in a fascinating and no-longer-common use of the word simple.
When the dogs come up with the splendid idea of disguising themselves with soot, there’s a little wordplay with “soot” and “suit”.
So, should you read The 101 Dalmatians?
Yes, yes you should.
Rating: 4 stars
Category: Children’s animal story
Synopsis: The married Pongo and Missus take off on a wild adventure to retrieve their stolen litter of 15 dalmatians – and end up with even more than the handful they expected.
Recommendation: A wonderful book for reading to oneself or aloud.
I read this as a part of Carrie’s Reading to Know Classics Book Club Check out what other bloggers are saying about this book at Reading to Know.