Le Mal Aimé: A New Short Film, A Cultural Moment, and the Journey Toward Vegetarianism

This holiday season, a curious project titled Le Mal Aimé has been making waves in French-speaking media and beyond—not as a traditional feature film, but as a short cinematic work that uses familiar narrative tropes to explore empathy, perception, and, intriguingly, the question of how we relate to food. 

A Short Film with a Big Question

Directed by Victor Chevalier and released in 2025, Le Mal Aimé is a two-minute short film that blends charm and metaphor in a way that feels cinematic despite its brevity. The story centers on a young boy who receives a stuffed wolf at Christmas. But the real heart of the narrative lies in the question posed by the scenario: How can we learn to love—or at least understand—the “big bad wolf” who seems frightening, unless his behavior stems from something deeper, like his relationship to food? 

This concept resonates beyond holiday storytelling. At its core, the film asks viewers to consider how habits, instincts, and cultural narratives shape our ideas of what is “good” or “bad”—in wolves, in ourselves, and in the foods we choose to eat. The title itself, Le Mal Aimé (“The Unloved”), becomes a mnemonic for all that is misunderstood or judged too quickly, including dietary choices that stray from tradition.

From Viral Advertising to Meaningful Dialogue

In 2025, the familiar French pop hit Le Mal Aimé—originally a song by Claude François—was revived in a Christmas advertising campaign in France featuring an animated vegetarian wolf that captures hearts across the internet. 

Unlike typical holiday ads, this piece wasn’t just about branding; it became a cultural conversation piece. The animations—praised for their soulfulness and charm—depicted a wolf who transforms from fearsome to lovable through shared meals and kindness, implicitly challenging traditional notions of who deserves compassion. Millions of viewers have shared and commented on the short film online, making it a surprising touchpoint for conversations about empathy, animal ethics, and how food choices shape identity.

Vegetarianism: From Personal Choice to Cultural Debate

The idea of changing one’s diet for ethical, environmental, or health reasons is hardly new. Yet it remains one of the most personal—and at times polarizing—decisions a person can make. Stories from cinema and media illustrate this dynamic vividly. In the 2009 South Korean film Vegetarian, for instance, a woman abruptly gives up meat, disrupting family dynamics and sparking questions about autonomy, societal expectation, and inner peace. 

While Le Mal Aimé tackles these themes metaphorically through its wolf protagonist, it connects to real-world experiences of people who choose vegetarian or plant-based lifestyles. Becoming vegetarian can be a journey of reconciling deeply held cultural beliefs with evolving ethical frameworks. It invites reflection on how we view animals, how we prioritize sustainability, and how personal habits intersect with broader environmental concerns.

Why Stories About Food Matter

Films, short films, ads, and art that touch on food—whether literally or symbolically—do more than entertain. They open a door to conversation around what it means to make conscious choices in a world where diets are deeply tied to tradition, identity, health, and morality.

Le Mal Aimé may be brief, but it is emblematic of a shift in storytelling: one that doesn’t shy away from asking difficult questions through accessible and emotionally resonant means. It reminds audiences that sometimes the stories that linger the longest are not those that preach, but those that provoke thought through empathy.