So X Factor’s Louis Walsh has created a bizarre Christmas film just for dogs
And it’s not just a ruff patch in his career
In a world of fake news and alternative facts, it sometimes seems like reality has to become more and more outlandish to keep up. Example? Louis Walsh has made a Christmas film specifically designed to be watched by dogs.
Yes, that’s right; the X Factor judge and former manager of Boyzone, Westlife and Johnny Logan has started a sideline in canine-friendly cinema, lending his dulcet tones to a specially-made film called Merry Woofmas which intends to give man’s best friend the very best in festive cheer.
Created by new channel Christmas 24 (which will show Christmas movies), the film was made with special audio and visual stimuli known to appeal specifically to dogs (and to improve their moods).
Furthermore, the whole thing is thoughtfully filmed in dogs' visible colour spectrum of blues and yellows, using slow-moving imagery and focusing on short scenes that “cater to dog’s limited attention span”. Given these parameters, one imagines they’re big fans of The Simpsons.
You can watch a short segment of the movie above, which was made by NBCUniversal with the help of animal behaviourist Dr Candy d’Sa and veterinarian Robert White-Adams.
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“I’ve absolutely loved narrating this special Christmas movie for dogs,” Walsh said, in a sentence that bears rereading a few times.
“It’s been really interesting to learn how pets are stimulated by different sounds and I hope they enjoy my voiceover in this film. I’ll definitely be encouraging Sharon and Simon’s dogs to give this a watch with me this Christmas! Merry Woofmas, everybody!”
Dr Candy d’Sa added, “It’s important to realise that dogs see the world in a very different way to us humans, and respond differently to certain audio and visuals.
“I think it’s great that there’s now a Christmas film specifically developed for dogs, so the whole family can sit back, relax and enjoy a Christmas film together this festive season.”
And in case you’re a star-spotter, there are even apparently a few canine Instagram stars appearing in the film as well, including Ramsey the Staffy, Marcel Le Corgi and Mika the Huskey, all of whom one would assume are preparing the ground for a transfer to Hollywood.
Anyway, only time will tell if Merry Woofmas will join the ranks of It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Actually, Home Alone, Elf and Jingle All the Way in the pantheon of the greatest Christmas movies ever made (yes, I’m putting Jingle All the Way in there, it’s my article). For now, it’s certainly made us paws for thought.
Merry Woofmas premieres on Christmas 24 and the channel’s Facebook page on the 28th October at 4.50pm
