It was, of course, said in humor. I had to go to my bookshelf out here to make absolutely sure about the quote myself.

It was only in later readings of Oz to my kids that I realized how much was in the book that I had never seen when I was small. All through the book, the Scarecrow is the one who thinks up the ideas, the Woodsman displays vast compassion, and the Lion, weeping in terror, throws himself between danger and his friends. I never saw this telegraphing of the theme of the story before, or much of Baum's sly wit.

The thing that struck me about the 101 Dalmations movie was the idea of a family so poverty-stricken, that they had to let go all but one of the servants. ( think in the book they were pretty well-off to start with.)