‘Decorado’: Stranger Than Fiction But Cute as a Button

Three years ago, Spanish comic book artist and filmmaker Alberto Vázquez shocked audiences with his bloody, brutal animated war film Unicorn Wars, which featured cute, colorful, big-eyed teddy bears and their unicorn nemeses in a graphic, grotesque quest for domination. Now, he has crafted an equally adorable—and equally tormented—cast of animated characters to explore mental health, drug addiction, poverty, marital strain, and many of the other terrors that come with life in modern society.

Directed by Vázquez and executive produced by Ivan Miñambres, Chelo Loureiro, J.M. Fdez de Vega, and Nuno Beato, Decorado follows Arnold, an unemployed middle-aged mouse who confides to his wife, Maria, that he suspects his entire world is nothing more than a set and his life a scripted performance. When his best friend Ramiro dies under mysterious circumstances, Arnold traces the conspiracy to a monolithic corporation whose influence reaches every corner of daily life. One thing is certain: something is wrong in the city of Anywhere.

Decorado, produced by UniKo, Abano Producións, and Glow Animation, is distributed by GKIDS and opens in North American theaters on Friday, May 15.

Adapted from Vázquez’s acclaimed 2016 short, the film blends biting humor with haunting beauty in a darkly comedic odyssey through an era of social control, manufactured realities, and the search for authentic human connection.

AWN sat down with Vázquez to discuss the story’s dystopian inspirations, the endearing yet disturbing 2D animation overseen by animation director Pamela Poltronieri and art director Jose Luis Ágreda, and whether he plans to continue using this kind of character design in future projects.

But first, check out the trailer:

Victoria Davis: Right off the bat, Decorado has a similar flavor to The Truman Show and Stranger Than Fiction: a man feels like he is being watched or monitored, and that his life is being controlled by someone else. I’m curious where this idea originated for you—whether it stemmed from those films or had a totally different origin.

Alberto Vázquez: Well, it started as a comic series I made, and then it became a short. After that, there was a potential adult animated series that never got made. We ultimately arrived at this feature-length film through a process that took about 13 years. There are a lot of inspirations. One influence, obviously in terms of the aesthetic style, was those classic Disney films, but also dystopian literature like “1984” and “Brave New World,” as well as the show The Prisoner and, indeed, The Truman Show. Then there’s a darker sense of humor inspired by Spanish directors like Luis Buñuel and comics artists like Jim Woodring.

I took all of that and filtered it through my own perspective—through how I understand the world, these social issues, and the conflicts we’re living through today.

VD: The last time we talked, we discussed Unicorn Wars and why you put these adorable cartoon creatures into such brutal environments. I liked what you said before about wanting to “provoke the audience” and subvert expectations. Was that still the intent with this story, which is more of a slow descent into madness than an all-out war?

AV: This film is less violent than Unicorn Wars, but it is also a bit more realistic, even within its fantastical world. It deals with real themes and the crises we go through: medical, financial, existential, and work crises; mega-corporations that control us; and superficial relationships that all point to a society that is unwell, that is sick. So, while it’s a different movie, and definitely not as provocative or violent as Unicorn Wars, it still has an element of psychological terror that is just as provoking.

VD: Even in a more realistic setting, you still felt these cute characters were the right conduit for talking about things that are so dark and deep. How do you feel they help approach these topics in a refreshing way versus characters that are more realistic, or characters that look more like what we would expect from a film like this?

AV: Animals work because they are so universal. They do not necessarily belong to any specific time, place, or culture. They can be understood everywhere. And animals lead us toward fantasy. I am not using fantasy as a way to get away from reality, but rather to make things feel more real. There are poetic ways to talk about difficult subjects with animation and animals. You can use metaphors in a way that is not as possible with live action or with human characters.

There is also a great contrast with animals between how they look and what they are actually going through. I think people may go in expecting a family movie and find something completely different. It is a drama.

VD: Working on a story like this is an emotional process, but I imagine it is also fun to show the descent into human madness through animal characters. What were some of the ways you wanted to visually show the unraveling of the main character’s mental state?

AV: Arnold is definitely a character who is suffering and, in a way, serves as the eyes of the viewer. He is our way of seeing this world. He feels like he is being controlled and feels very isolated, but he is still able to count on the support of his friends and his wife. Even though he and his wife are going through a rough patch in their marriage, you can tell that their relationship is still very real. Ultimately, those real relationships are what are going to save us, too. So, when Arnold tries to escape but is not able to, he is able to fall back on those real relationships.

VD: When you are talking about struggles, traumas, and the crises in our world today, there are so many different topics you could address. Like you said, this could have been a series, but you had to condense it into a film. How did you decide what topics to focus on when talking about human existence? How did you decide what was most important?

AV: The problems we talk about are all connected and have a cause-and-effect relationship in the story. Mental health problems are related to marital crises. The troubles in the marriage are connected to the economic crisis. Then you have social control, which leads to an identity crisis. All of these topics are closely related, and they are all very current and relevant today.

VD: Were there topics or things the characters were going through that made you emotional?

AV: There were scenes that were harder from a technical perspective, particularly the final scene. But one scene I especially love is the flashback that the Depression Fairy shares about Arnold and Maria, how they were when they were younger, and what happens to Arnold when he has to care for his father. I always try to depict things that I have been through, or that friends have been through, and filter everything through my own emotions and experience, because that is what really brings a layer of truth and honesty to the film.

VD: I agree. You mentioned the ending scene presented a technical challenge. Was that one of the biggest challenges in production?

AV: I mean, it might have been the hardest one technically, but there are lots of characters, and that is something you have to be careful about because it can also add a lot to a film’s budget. At the end of the day, we are a small independent production, so we needed to make sure we were spreading our efforts in an economical way. You have to strike that balance. You have to cut some things. But there are scenes that are absolutely worth the effort. The last scene had a lot of characters, and that is how we wanted to do it.

VD: You have also managed to make viewers truly care about each member of the cast, despite having limited time with them. That is not always easy to do.

AV: It is an ensemble piece. You have your key characters, of course, Arnold and Maria, but all of the characters have their own problems. You have the friends, certainly, but you also have characters who are spying on them, like the frog, who has its own problems to deal with as well. So, everyone is going through something. And I really do like having a lot of small stories within the larger one.

VD: You have been working with these adorable but equally tortured characters for a while now. Do you think you will continue working with the same kinds of characters and designs that exist in these traumatic worlds?

AV: I have been working in this style since my comics days. I do like that these animals are so universal, and that is why I have kept using them. But I do not know whether I will make another movie with them. I have to think about what I want to do next, and I cannot say whether it is going to be in the same style. I need to rest and think about it.

Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.