New animated sequences of songs from \u201cEncanto,\u201d \u201cFrozen 2\u201d and \u201cMoana 2\u201d are headed to Disney+. <\/p>\n
Disney Animation announced Wednesday that \u201cSongs in Sign Language,\u201d comprised of three musical numbers from recent Disney movies newly reimagined in American Sign Language, will debut April 27 in honor of National Deaf History Month. <\/p>\n
Directed by veteran Disney animator Hyrum Osmond, \u201cSongs in Sign Language\u201d will feature fresh animation for \u201cEncanto\u2019s<\/a>\u201d chart-topper<\/a> \u201cWe Don\u2019t Talk About Bruno<\/a>,\u201d \u201cFrozen 2<\/a>\u2019s\u201d poignant ballad<\/a> \u201cThe Next Right Thing\u201d and \u201cMoana 2\u2019s<\/a>\u201d anthem \u201cBeyond<\/a>.\u201d Produced by Heather Blodget and Christina Chen, the new versions of these songs were created in collaboration with L.A.-based theater company Deaf West Theatre<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cIn the majority of cases, we created entirely new animation,\u201d Osmond said in a press statement. \u201cThere were a lot of adjustments that we had to do within the animation to be true to the original intention.\u201d <\/p>\n Deaf West Theatre artistic director DJ Kurs, sign language reference choreographer Catalene Sacchetti and a group of eight performers from Deaf West worked together to craft and choreograph the ASL version of the musical numbers for \u201cSongs in Sign Language.\u201d The creatives focused on being true to the concepts and emotion of the songs rather than direct translations of the lyrics. <\/p>\n Kurs said his team jumped at the chance to collaborate and integrate ASL into \u201cthe fabric of Disney storytelling.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cDisney stories are the universal language of childhood,\u201d Kurs said in a statement. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n