All This (Puppy) Love

101 Dalmatians Shares the Gospel Message in So Many Ways

We know the classic plot arc of good versus evil—all good stories rely on it. Often, however, something even deeper resounds in a story that catches our hearts. Maybe you haven’t been able to put a name on it, but it’s the gospel.

This week, we dig deeper into the classic Disney movie “101 Dalmatians” so you can watch it while you wait for “Cruella” to be released without the Premier Access fee on Disney Plus. (That doesn’t happen until after summer’s practically over.)

So, settle in and get comfy as we find the larger good vs. evil “story of all stories” inside this animated classic I remember from my own childhood.

C.S. Lewis once said:

“Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you’re making their destiny not brighter, but darker.”

101 Dalmatians has all of those components. The villain Cruella is so cruel, the word is even in her name. Even so, what elevates the story to be one that gets retold again and again (the original classic was created, believe it or not, in 1961, and then a live-action version was created in 1996. Cruella was released less than a month ago), is that in the beloved story, a (dog) master is benevolently for (not against) his dogs. Roger and Anita share the desires of their dogs hearts and empower them in their love to play a rather large role in the rescue.

When Cruella, who like the devil, “comes only to steal and kill and destroy”* (literally to turn them into fur coats), Roger stands up to the crazed woman. He stands his ground in the face of strong opposition. Even though Perdy is so scared she will lose her precious litter, her dog partner Pongo excitedly brings the good news that their owners “told her off!” We’ll keep the puppies!” he announces with gladness.

Still, it doesn’t go down that easy. Cruella is set on destruction. She uses accomplices and demands, “I don’t care how you kill them!” In her own selfish attempt at gain, she just wants it done. It’s definitely heightening into an all out battle, and the protagonists must fight for good and right to win.

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Cruella seems to have won for the short term when her, Horace and Jasper’s plans to steal the puppies while the Radcliffes are out for a walk indeed works. Matthew 10:28 says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” There is a lot of soul in the Radcliffes and especially in their dear Pongo and Perdy to get their beloved puppies back. They will not go down without a fight.

The mother and father Dalmatian will go on an adventure, a great journey, to find their lost pups. They will leave the comfort and safety of their home, participate in the twilight bark, travel across the land through deep drifts of snow, swim against the current through icy waterways, lodge in unfamiliar territory in order to rescue their “children” from harm’s way. It reminds me “how wide and long and high and deep is the love” of the Father (Ephesians 3:18).

And not just because there were 15 of them. In two separate scenes, we see the dogs and their rescue team live out the “99 for the 1” kind of love. In one instance, a puppy strays behind the rest, and risking the hideout of all 99 others being discovered, the sergeant cat reaches his paw out into the light and snatches the stray pup into safety with the rest. Similarly, as the sooted-up puppies are being rallied into the moving truck, it begins to leave, but they don’t give up in the face of danger until every last puppy has a chance to catch their way home.

“Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” He does!

And when they are all back together again, there is a grand celebration, involving music and dancing and ear-to-ear grinning. Not only have the 15 lost puppies returned, but the Radcliffes have agreed to keep and care for all 99 of the other rescued pups. The second half of the verse about the thief coming only to steal and kill and destroy is, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Or according to another version, “and have it abundantly.”

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*quote from verse John 10:10

POSTED BY

Jenna

Jenna Kruse is a teacher but not in a classroom. She loves to think outside the box and inside the Word and is daily in need of an attitude adjustment. She is a wife to Justin, a mother to three children ages 10, 8 and 5 and a mentor to teenagers and young adults. You can learn more about the heart behind her blog HERE.

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