May 14, 2026 10:56pm PT

‘Decorado’ Review: This Bleak Existential Fable From Spain Is the Year’s Most Mind-Bending Animated Film

Spanish auteur Alberto Vázquez returns with an extraordinarily timely third feature that continues his absurdist and somber exploration of the human condition.

Carlos Aguilar

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Carlos Aguilar

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Courtesy of GKDS

Several characters in “Decorado” are on the brink of a mental breakdown. Poverty, unemployment and a constant state of paranoia have driven them to feel like they are trapped inside an artificial set, where every element in their lives feels fake and orchestrated by an ominpresent Big Brother-like business known as ALMA (Almighty Limitless Megacorporative Agency). And their suspicions might not be unfounded. Following “Birdboy: The Forgotten Children” and “Unicorn Wars,” the third feature from Spanish director Alberto Vázquez (all three of them have won the Goya Award for Best Animated Film) is an expansion of his 2016 short film, also titled “Decorado” (which earned him another Goya).