Decorado, from Alberto Vázquez, is a tale of two animated mice,  Arnold (Asier Hormaza) and MarÍa (Aintzane Gamiz), who are both facing a midlife crisis; nothing feels right, but they can’t pinpoint why.

When I read the premise of Decorado, I was automatically drawn towards it, as Albertio Vázquez was also behind Unicorn Wars (2022), a movie about war-hungry teddy bears.

With Decorado, it was a mix of The Truman Show (1999)  and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). You have a vibrant, animated world with an unsettling undertone at its core.

Arnold and Maria reminisce about the early days when they clearly felt that everything was limitless; now it feels like a complete slog. The sense of that inevitable end comes in with Decocardao; eventually, time catches up. There is a harsh line repeated to Arnold, ‘In this world it’s impossible to dream.’ It really drives the rut that not just Arnold but MarÍa find themselves in.

Personified by the A.L.M.A Corporation (Almighty Limitless Megacorporative Agency), the horror of this film comes from how quickly life, like a corporation, can suddenly just take over.

Vȧzquez, alongside his great animators, creates a world where, across back alleys, sewers, or forests, something is hiding, adding another rotting aspect to this place.

One of the most terrifying reveals is when Arnold dumps the ‘happy pills’  down the toilet sink. We cut to the sewers, where A.L.M.A has people gathering these pills to recycle them. The world we are in is strange and scary at every corner that we have yet to discover.

The variety of animated characters is incredible. From the animation team in the forest, we see a mermaid fishwoman, a demon who plays a harp to lure people so it can eat souls, and Búho Gigante, the giant owl of the forest (Kandido Uranga). The mixture of 2D animation with the 1930s-50s classic approach creates such a visual treat.

Where film does fall at times is how bleak it can be. You do see Arnold and MarÍa eventually find that spark again, but even by the end, it’s not enough. I appreciate the honesty that life can push back harder and harder; however, it can come across as just doom and gloom.

Aiser Hormaza really embodies the idea that Arnold has become a jaded spirit, who you can tell years have been taken from him, and also, at the start, really sells his paranoia. Of course, we know something is up, but for Arnold, this is a discovery.

Aintzane Gamiz, as María, at times, could be said to be blissfully unaware; however, it comes from a place of fear, like Arnold. If I am not aware of it and push it deep down, I don’t need to acknowledge it, but I still care for Arnold even through all that frustration.

In the supporting role, Kandido Uranga as Búho Gigante has such an impactful presence, delivering one of my favourite lines from the film, ‘The world is a wonderful stage, but has a deplorable cast.’

Decorado is full of imagination, oddness, and horror, all coming from the feeling of life catching up suddenly. Alongside an imagined corporation controlling and dictating fate and a demon trying to seal your soul, this film creates a nihilistic ride.

Review Courtesy of Matthew Allan

Feature Image Courtesy of Le Pacte