Alberto Vázquez and Pedro Rivero have created a small masterpiece with Birdboy: The Forgotten Children.

This tiny little wonder takes place in a post-apocolyptic universe, populated with adorable, angsty, world-weary, and drug-addled animals. In this world where hope seems lost, salvation seems possible for teenager, Dinky, and her rag-tag group of friends who are all searching for a way out of the hellish reality that has become their lives.

Most of the characters in this film, particularly the anti-hero Birdboy (a bird with a large head, big round eyes, and a heroin addiction, who wears a tattered business suit) are dealing with their own demons, both literally and metaphorically.

On their quest for freedom, they will encounter much resistance, but also something that resembles hope. There may well be a way out of the darkness for these characters, but it’s the journey that really matters here, dark and tumultuous as it is.

Beautifully animated, scored, and directed, Birdboy: The Forgotten Children is now available on Blu-ray through Shout Factory. It should be an immediate purchase for fans of animation, as well as film in general. Do not miss this unapologetically adult feature that is definitely not for children.