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Disney Animation Reimagines Songs in Sign Language with Deaf West Theatre

Disney Animation Reimagines Songs in Sign Language with Deaf West Theatre
source: gettyimages
April 21, 2026

Disney+ will celebrate National Deaf History Month on April 27 by debuting Songs in Sign Language, a trio of animated musical sequences from recent Walt Disney Animation Studios features reimagined and animated in American Sign Language (ASL). The project, directed by veteran Disney animator Hyrum Osmond, features three songs: “The Next Right Thing” from Frozen 2, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto, and “Beyond” from Moana 2. The collaboration brings together Osmond, producers Heather Blodget and Christina Chen, and Deaf West Theatre’s artistic director DJ Kurs, along with the theatre’s team, to create new ASL interpretations that stay true to the original tunes.

A behind-the-scenes featurette will accompany the releases, offering a look into how the collaboration unfolded and what it took to shape the new versions for Disney Animation’s Songs in Sign Language. Osmond led a team of more than 20 animators who worked from specially created sign-language references for the project. Deaf West Theatre’s eight performers, with sign-language reference choreographer Catalene Sacchetti, helped reimagine and choreograph the lyrics, focusing on conveying concepts and emotion rather than performing a literal transcription.

Osmond notes that most of the work involved crafting entirely new animation to honor the intent of the originals. He also shared two personal motivations for pursuing the project: sign language represents one of the most beautiful forms of communication, and animation provides a powerful medium to showcase it; moreover, he wanted to strengthen his own connection with the Deaf community, inspired by growing up with a Deaf father. This reimagining, he says, helps lower barriers and creates a unique bridge between Disney’s storytelling and Deaf audiences.

Kurs describes the collaboration as a historic opportunity to bring Deaf culture into Disney’s storytelling universe. He emphasizes that Disney stories are universal and that adapting them through ASL can reach a global audience. The process was deeply emotional for Deaf West Theatre, whose artists have long admired Disney’s animation. Kurs hopes this achievement opens doors for more inclusive projects in the future.

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