Disney reanimates iconic songs in American Sign Language in a groundbreaking new collection announcement, heralding the emergence of a novel animation technique to make films more accessible. While many animated movies feature accessibility features, these new musical sequences are fully animated for clarity in American Sign Language. The Songs in Sign Language will be released on April 27, 2026, on Disney+, in celebration of National Deaf History Month.
Disney reanimates iconic songs in American Sign Language with new animation approach
The animation studio had to build a sequence from the ground up and not just superimpose characters over an already finished video. The project required animators to rebuild their characters’ performances to accommodate ASL. According to the project director, Hyrum Osmond, sign language is one of the most beautiful forms of communication in the world. If there was ever any medium for showcasing ASL, then it should be animation. His main intention in creating this project was to bridge the gap between the hearing and deaf communities by removing barriers.
DJ Kurs of Deaf West Theatre called the collaboration revolutionary. Disney films have long been the language of childhood, he said, and with this project ASL can thrive in that medium. It means that the art of ASL would be adapted to fit into Disney animation movies.
The Disney project features three musical tracks – “The Next Right Thing” from Frozen 2, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto, and “Beyond” from Moana 2. Each of these musical tracks was reimagined as a scene with perfect choreography in sign language. The signing done by Anna in “The Next Right Thing” emphasizes emotional restraint through posture and facial expressions. Encanto featured more than 20 animators, all coordinating 30 characters, which made it one of the most technically challenging sequences.
The collaboration with Deaf West Theatre brought the involvement of eight performers providing live action reference for animators. Catalene Sacchetti, the choreographer for the film, ensured that the signing sequences were clear and easily readable by audience members. This is the first time a 3D animation studio re-renders its animated characters to sign in a non-spoken language. This project required the reorientation of lyrics offscreen in order for viewers to follow who is signing in ensembles.
The release will include a featurette about how this project was created. Accessibility advocates have responded to the project positively, praising its use of conceptual translation as opposed to word-by-word sign language translation.
There is currently no information on the possible expansion of the project in the future. While there is a demand for more sign language versions of Disney songs, Disney has yet to confirm further releases.