Deaf West Theatre Partners With Disney For Songs in Sign Language | Playbill
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Deaf West Theatre Partners With Disney For Songs in Sign Language

Featuring three animated musical sequences, the short film is headed for Disney+ in April.

March 09, 2026 By Meg Masseron

In celebration of National Deaf History Month, California's Deaf West Theatre has partnered with Disney Animation to create Songs in Sign Language, a short film featuring three animated musical sequences in American Sign Language (ASL) It will be available for streaming on Disney+ beginning April 27.

Directed by veteran Disney animator/director Hyrum Osmond, the film features performances of “The Next Right Thing” from Frozen 2, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto, and “Beyond” from Moana 2. Osmond worked with more than 20 animators who used sign language reference exclusively created for Disney by DJ Kurs, Deaf West's artistic director; sign language reference choreographer Catalene Sacchetti; and a group of eight performers from the company. The team carefully reimagined and choreographed lyrics into ASL by focusing on concepts and emotion instead of a word-for-word transcription. 

Osmond's own father is Deaf, and he cites his father for inspiration for the project. "Sign language is one of the most beautiful ways of communication on Earth. If ever there was a medium to showcase sign language, it was animation. The other big reason for doing this project is to connect with the Deaf community. Growing up, I never learned sign language, and that barrier prevented me from really connecting with my dad. This reimagining of Disney Animation musical numbers helps bring down barriers and allows us to connect in a special way with our audiences in the Deaf community,” said Osmond in a statement.

“Disney stories are the universal language of childhood. The chance to bring our language into that world was a historic opportunity to reach a global audience. Working on this project was very emotional. For so long, we have known and loved the artistic medium of Disney Animation. Here, the art form was adapting to us. I hope this unlocks possibilities in the minds and hearts of Deaf children, and that this all leads to more down the road,” said Kurs in a statement.

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