Decorado is an animated dark film that will leave you questioning your life and all of your relationships. The story, written by Alberto Vazquez and F. Xavier Manuel Ruiz, follows a mouse named Arnold as he slowly decides that something isn’t quite right in the town he lives in. Arnold slowly finds his life unraveling as he wonders if everything around him is fake like a set, or, in Spanish, a decorado. Without spoiling the finer details of the film, I will say it’s a brilliant microcosm that examines the reality of work, capitalistic forces, identity, and romance amidst all of them. Decorado is a story that has evolved over time from a comic, to a short film, to this feature length film which first debuted in 2025. Ahead of the film’s 2026 North American theatrical release via GKIDS, we at Anime Corner had the opportunity to speak with Alberto Vazquez about Decorado. Our conversation covered the origins of the film as well as a variety of its finer elements, especially the components that make it such a poignant look at working society.
Portions of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity. This interview was conducted with the assistance of an interpreter.
Q: My first question is how did the idea for Decorado originally come to you and did any specific event serve as inspiration?
A: It originally came from a series of comics that I created in 2012. It was made into a short in 2016 which you can watch online; it has the same name. And then later we tried to make an adult animation series. So we developed some plots and some characters for that, but because that never came out, we decided to turn it into a feature length film. And there are a lot of inspirations — first among them is the comic series itself, but then also classic Disney films, as well as dystopian literature, like 1984, Brave New World, The Truman Show, the series The Prisoner. And then with some Spanish filmmakers, that sort of absurd sense of humor that you see with directors like Luis Buñuel. And then also Scenes From a Marriage by Ingmar Bergman, which also deals with a sort of marital crisis like this film does.
Q: That makes a lot of sense. And my next question, as you mentioned, the film builds off of the short film and the comics, but greatly expands on the original concept and storyline. What was your process for enriching the original work?
A: I mean, really the biggest thing was just time, and as time passes, an idea might grow. So the comics were sort of the seed that then ultimately expanded into the entire universe. But really it comes from thinking about our understanding of society and a lot of the big changes that we’ve been through. So you have social media and AI sort of marking the end of reality as we know it. You have megacorporations who are controlling our data and our information and our lives. And so within the film you have Alma, which is this megacorporation that’s sort of a blend of Google, Amazon and Monsanto all put together. But we’re also dealing with these health crises, these financial crises. And as with any dystopian work, it’s sort of this idea of things that are incredibly relevant right now, but also that are universal and will always be true.
Q: And as a director, what were you paying the most attention to for Decorado? Or in other words, what aspect had to be absolutely perfect for you?
A: That’s a good question. What’s objective is that the art and the animation have to be good. This is traditional animation replicating that sort of hand-painted style and you want that to be really good. But as a director I’m also focusing on things like the script and the pacing. And those things are a little bit more subjective. And you do want to do a good job with them. But obviously, mistakes are going to happen. I’m very happy with the movie and the story and the art. But there are always things that could be better. But the budget that you have, the time that you have are what they are. And so you have to remember that you’re not making the movie you want. You’re making the movie that you can.
Q: How did you go about creating the various characters and roles in the film? Did you have them in mind from the very beginning for all of them? Or did they naturally come up with the story?
A: They did sort of develop organically over the film. Because originally in the beginning it was really a movie about Arnold and how he was trying to escape but then halfway through you have Maria’s life coming into it. And it really becomes about how all of these characters are trying to escape and the various ways in which they do that, whether it is with drugs or extramarital relationships. But what ultimately saves all of them in the end are those relationships that are real. The love and the friendships that are the basis of the entire movie.
Q: The film has multiple twists of fate that leave the watcher wondering what might possibly happen next. What led you to structure the story in that way?
A: I like surprising the audience, so that is deliberate. I want the viewer to not expect what’s going to happen next. And I do think that the film is a mix of tones and a mix of scenes. You go from humor to drama to psychological terror. And there are all of these mini-stories because it is an ensemble film. So there are a lot of subplots. And ultimately, the protagonist is really everyone who lives within the set of Decorado. So you have Crazy Chicken and you have Duck Ronnie and you have this demon. And these secondary characters are there to add themes and to add plots.
Q: What would you like the audience to take away from Decorado?
A: I think of the film as not being mine anymore. It now belongs to the audience and they can draw their own conclusions. But if someone down the line thinks of the film, or remembers a certain character, or has a quote on their mind, I’ll be happy.
Q: Amazing. And then my last question. What aspect of the film would you recommend watchers pay special attention to?
A: Those themes of accusing your neighbor and of control — whether it comes from the state, or from a company, or from your place of work, I really just want people to think about their life. And besides it being a well-made film — the art style is good, and the script is good, and the direction is good — It sort of blends these classic elements with modernity, and that’s classic in terms of the art style, but modern in terms of the themes that it’s choosing to represent, and how it’s representing them. I’ll just be happy if I can have added one small drop in the world of sci-fi dystopia.
We’d like to thank Alberto Vazquez for taking the time to speak with us about the creation of Decorado and thank all those who were involved in getting the interview set up. If you’re interested in Decorado, you can watch the trailer here. The film comes to theaters in North America in its original Spanish language and an all-new English language dub beginning May 15. Be sure to look for it in a theater near you.
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