Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Songs in Sign Language, debuting April 27 on Disney+, is an opportunity to bring songs to the Deaf community in ways that feel fully expressive, intentional, and culturally authentic, rather than simply translated and confined to a small box in the corner. In our interview with Disney animator and director Hyrum Osmond (Olaf Presents), Deaf West Theatre artistic director DJ Kurs, and sign language reference choreographer Catalene Sacchetti, we explore why reimagining songs from Frozen II, Moana 2, and Encanto matters.

Songs in Sign Language is a personal project of Osmond, who is a child of deaf parents. “He wanted to connect to his father, and that makes all the difference for me,” Kurs said. “It made this project much more powerful. And the push for collaboration was an easy sell for me, because there was a purpose. All art is personal, of course, but the intent and the impact this project will have was very exciting for me as well, but the origin of the story is the most beautiful part for me.

Songs in Sign Language reimagines three musical sequences from recent Disney animated films through American Sign Language (ASL). “The Next Right Thing” from Frozen 2, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto, and “Beyond” from Moana 2 are newly animated from their original source material, with the songs’ lyrics expressed through ASL under the guidance of Kurs and Sacchetti.

As a son of deaf parents, the project itself has shaped Osmond’s allyship with the deaf community. The director spoke about how the project made him reflect on his relationship with his family and the hopes Songs in Sign Language would bridge the gap between those who can hear the songs and those who use sign language. “In our meeting together, just the regrets I’ve had, you know, as a kid, not being able to really connect with my dad,” Osmond said. “And I just think that, if anything, for me, I’m just getting personal here, but for me, this project stands a bit as just a symbol of that, like we can take down those barriers.”

ASL is more than just simple signing; there’s emotion woven into the very fabric of the language. So to see a song that is more based on voices and music interpreted through sign is different because now it’s not an interpreter in a box in the corner, but a character who is also signing. Which is an important distinction in many ways because now the deaf community can see themselves in the characters because they communicate through signing just like them.

“When you have an interpreter or a Deaf signer in the corner, that’s always good for providing access, for providing information,” Sacchetti explained. I experience the same thing the hearing person is experiencing. This project is different because of its artistic approach. The music, to the emotion, to the story. It’s different in that way. An interpreter or deaf signer on the screen is very helpful for the information. So then I can say, Oh, I’m watching this thing with an interpretation so I understand the information. But with Songs in Sign Language, I can relate to the character, for example, Moana, Mirabelle. I can feel like, ‘oh, that I’m one of you. You’re one of me.'”

That distinction matters. Rather than asking Deaf audiences to watch from the margins, Songs in Sign Language places signing at the center of the storytelling. In doing so, it creates the kind of connection that Deaf audiences have rarely been given in animation.

While ASL has had a presence in films like A Quiet Place, Creed 3, Eternals, and Coda, Songs in Sign Language is different because it needed to be more than just a concept or having animators layer sign language over. “I have this connection to a character that the Deaf community has never had the opportunity to experience when it comes to entertainment,” Sacchetti said. “So this project, this time, is so exciting, and I believe that the deaf community will feel this isn’t an historic first when they see themselves on the screen in an animated representation that’s never been done before.”

Just as important, the team said the work required cultural nuance as well as technical care. That was especially true for Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and Moana 2’s “Beyond,” where authenticity meant finding performers who could bring lived cultural understanding to the signing. “You know, we did make the effort to find native signers from that culture, because we want them to be understood as Moana is from the Pacific Islander,” Kurs said. “So we want to get nuance. So we got actors who carry that lineage. So there’s so much stoicism in that culture, or specific cultural traits that I actually learned from the actors during this process that actually had a big impact on me.”

When addressing bringing Colombian authenticity through sign to Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” Kurs said, “The Colombian actors who came out that were born in Colombia, they brought that cultural authenticity, and used some of their signs mixed with the American Sign Language as well to make this wonderful collaboration much deeper and richer. And the nuance is there, and all of that was captured through the actors that we chose.”

For now, there are no official plans to take this beyond just the songs or shorts. But the significance cannot be understated, as it proves the concept works and that ASL can be included in these stories or animated films of this scope and scale.

Songs in Sign Language makes its streaming debut exclusively on Disney+ on April 27, 2026.