MAUMAUMAU Returns with Animated “Macho Man (The Short Film)”

Los Angeles-based Mexican artist MAUMAUMAU is back with an epic ten-minute short film, MACHO MAN (The Short Film), created alongside acclaimed director Daniel ‘Cloud’ Campos and executive producer Krystall Ellsworth. Released with a three-song EP, Macho Man: The Soundtrack, the short film features Mau’s breakout summer single “Macho Macho,” as well as two previously unheard tracks, “Cat Walk,” and “Plastic.”

MACHO MAN follows the story of Macho as he puts his existence on the line to save his love interest from the impending doom of an approaching shark in the swimming pool and later a “shark” in a purple sports car. Throughout the short film, viewers are introduced to “Cat Walk,” a funky indie pop track leaning into Mau’s whimsical bilingual songwriting, and “Plastic,” an upbeat electropop song that accompanies an outrageous, hilarious club scene.

Mau and Cloud, who previously collaborated on the slapstick heartbreak music video for “God Bless The Irony,” have outdone themselves with this latest short film. Crafted entirely as a hand-motion animation, the video takes you into the immersive, heartfelt, and humorous world of MAUMAUMAU while highlighting the sound of his new era– somewhere in between alternative Latin pop, synth rock, and indie electronic – and still entirely Mau’s distinctive approach and sound.

The idea for the short film first came to Mau during a trip to Joshua Tree National Park, where Mau was filming content with Cloud.

Regarding the film, Mau shares:

“This year’s theme for me has had a lot to do with toxic masculinity. Tackling the kind that you inherit from your parents, to all the things we get to see on the screens and in our communities. ‘Macho Macho’ is about challenging what it means to be a macho man. Specifically, the kind of pressure you feel from a father figure. When I played this song for my best friend Daniel, he suggested shooting a music video with little action figures and dolls. To bring out the inner child and tell a story, my playing with dolls seemed like the perfect way to represent the song.”

Campos adds:

“Our wish is that as you watch this short, it brings out your inner child.”

Released in May 2025, “Macho Macho” was written as a letter of admiration to Mau’s father, and explores the space between cultural inheritance and emotional truth while venturing to reimagine what manhood can look like when vulnerability is no longer treated as weakness but as proof of strength. Through warm, Latin indie pop production and tasteful bilingual lyricism, MAUMAUMAU questions outdated ideals while redefining them. It offers a vision of masculinity grounded in softness, joy, and self-acceptance. The song has received over 120,000 streams.

Macho Man: The Soundtrack was produced/mixed by Reed Izumi (Fr8 Train Music), mixed by Fernando Familiar Sanchez (Macho Macho only), and mastered by Jack Kennedy.

MAUMAUMAU “Macho Man” single artwork