What ‘Songs in Sign Language’ Actually Is
Songs in Sign Language is a short-form project from Walt Disney Animation Studios that reimagines three hit musical sequences as American Sign Language performances. Streaming on Disney+, it presents The Next Right Thing from Frozen 2, We Don’t Talk About Bruno from Encanto, and Beyond from Moana 2 as fully reanimated set pieces designed around ASL. Rather than overlaying interpreters or adding a small picture-in-picture window, Disney ASL songs here exist within the body of the film’s characters themselves. A volunteer team of more than 20 animators rebuilt the sequences using the original digital assets as a foundation, but with new motion tailored to Deaf audiences. For Deaf animation fans accustomed to relying on subtitles or separate sign language music videos, this marks a rare moment where their language is not an add-on, but the core performance.
A Collaboration Built Around Deaf Creatives
The making of Songs in Sign Language signals a shift from simply making content accessible to centering Deaf perspectives in how it is conceived. Director Hyrum Osmond partnered with DJ Kurs, artistic director of Deaf West Theatre, and sign language reference choreographer Catalene Sacchetti, alongside eight Deaf West performers, to choreograph the lyrics in ASL. Instead of word-for-word translation, the team focused on concepts and emotion, adapting the songs into a visual language that feels natural to Deaf signers. Osmond has described the project as a personal attempt to “take down barriers,” shaped by his experiences growing up with a hard-of-hearing father and regretting that he never learned sign language. That personal motivation helped justify the long conceptual phase: the team deliberately moved slowly at first to “do their homework,” ensuring the result felt like it was made with the Deaf community, not simply for them.
Reanimating the Classics: How ASL Changed the Shots
Transforming beloved musical numbers into inclusive Disney animation meant rethinking almost every aspect of performance. Osmond’s team did not simply tweak hand poses; they often created entirely new animation, informed by reference footage of Deaf West performers. Characters’ bodies and faces move differently, with choreography designed so signs remain clear and readable even amid complex staging. That meant adjusting camera framing to keep hands and facial expressions in view, reshaping blocking, and even reconsidering how characters occupy space within the frame. In multi-character numbers like We Don’t Talk About Bruno, visual clarity becomes a kind of musical arrangement, guiding viewers’ eyes from signer to signer. At the same time, the animators worked to stay true to the original songs’ intentions, preserving pacing, emotional arcs, and iconic beats while letting ASL drive timing and emphasis. The result is a hybrid: familiar melodies anchored to genuinely new performances.
Why This Matters for Deaf Animation Fans and the Industry
For many Deaf animation fans, Songs in Sign Language represents something they rarely see: a major studio musical presented in their language from the ground up. It goes beyond captions or descriptive audio, offering ASL as the primary expressive tool that carries melody, meaning, and character. Reviewers have compared the shorts to those park encounters where a Deaf child discovers a character can sign back to them—the difference is that this recognition now lives in the studio’s core medium. On a broader level, these sign language music videos arrive on a major streaming platform at a moment when accessibility is becoming a competitive expectation, not a bonus feature. By investing in original ASL animation, Disney signals that inclusion can be a site of artistic experimentation, not merely a compliance task. That precedent raises the bar for other studios and platforms aiming to serve Deaf audiences more meaningfully.
Building Signed Storytelling into Future Animated Worlds
Songs in Sign Language is still a retrofit, reworking existing hits after the fact—but it hints at what could happen if future animated features planned for signed performances from day one. Character design could evolve to prioritize clear hand shapes, expressive faces, and silhouettes that keep arms unobstructed. Story worlds might normalize signing as part of their cultures, allowing ASL or other sign languages to shape character relationships, comedy, and musical staging. Instead of separate versions, films could be built with parallel choreographies, where song sequences are storyboarded both for vocal delivery and for sign. Disney’s long history includes both pioneering animation and painful missteps in representation; projects like this suggest a new chapter where inclusion is a creative constraint embraced early. The open question is whether Songs in Sign Language remains a one-off experiment or becomes a template that future franchises refine and expand.