Disney animates beloved songs in American Sign Language

By Louise Kinross

Next Monday you can watch three animated songs from Frozen 2, Encanto and Moana 2 that incorporate American Sign Language.

Disney+ is debuting Songs in Sign Language, three musical sequences from some of its most popular films. The songs have been reanimated from their original files, with lyrics choreographed in ASL by Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles.

One is We Don't Talk About Bruno from Encanto. 

The songs were directed by Disney animator Hyrum Osmond, whose father is deaf. "Growing up, I never learned sign language, and that barrier prevented me from really connecting with my dad," Osmond says. He hopes the project "helps bring down barriers and allows us to connect in a special way with our audiences in the deaf community."

The sequences are being released during National Deaf History Month. Each song comes with a behind-the-scenes look at how animators and deaf performers worked together. Disney+ says the choreographed lyrics focus on 'concepts and emotion instead of a word-for-word transcription."

Like this content? Sign up for our monthly BLOOM e-letter or take our short BLOOM survey.