Does Cruella seem a little Hitler-esque to anyone else?

This weekend we got in 101 Dalmatians for the kids to watch. It's one of my favorite Disney movies. Not terribly treacly, an unambiguously rotten villain (just the way I like my bad guys), and an underground railroad of concerned citizens working together to save the kids: what's not to love?

It's a great movie to watch as a family, and the first one we've been able to watch together in about a year. Thea has been going through a phase where she insists that the grown-ups leave the room while she's watching TV. We were grateful when they were watching their 48th viewing of Dora Saves the Mermaids, but Todd and I longed to be able to sit for an hour or so with our kids and hang out doing something mellow, something that wouldn't result in Todd giving them pony rides on his back.

Both kids loved it. Liam clapped his hands and laughed through most of it. Thea, an empathetic soul who usually finds even mildly scary parts of movies too intense, barked at Cruella when the puppies on the screen did. I think she found it empowering that the kids were able to persevere against the bad guys, and that the parents were their capable rescuers in the end.