US family dining and entertainment company Chuck E. Cheese is working with the American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) to launch several new accessible experiences for deaf and hard-of-hearing kids.

Honoring National Deaf Awareness Month, the first-ever original Chuck E. Cheese videos to feature American Sign Language (ASL) interpretations will drop in September on the brand’s official YouTube channel. Two videos, including “Water Buffalo” (pictured), will launch next month followed by eight more over the next year. All of the song and dance videos will feature real kid signers who are deaf or hard of hearing and are part of the ASDC. These “Sign-Alongs” will also run on the Chuck E. Cheese in-store media platform. 

Chuck E. Cheese made its first move into ASL content in January when it launched an updated version of its “We Say Happy, You Say Birthday” song on YouTube with signers provided by KIDZ BOP via a partnership it signed with the company in 2023.

Expanding its commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, Chuck E. Cheese is also collaborating with the ASDC to launch a series of training videos this fall to teach employees about basic deaf culture, ASL greetings and best practices for serving and engaging with deaf and hard-of-hearing guests.

Additionally, a month-long fundraising initiative at participating locations in the US will encourage Chuck E. Cheese guests to support the ASDC by rounding up their purchases to the next dollar. The company will also donate 20% of all sales made at these locations to the non-profit when the ASDC is mentioned at checkout.

ASL interpretation is on the rise in kids entertainment as more companies are finding that traditional accessibility features such as closed captioning and descriptive audio don’t do enough to engage young deaf viewers.

Other recent efforts to provide more meaningful content for deaf and hard-of-hearing children have seen PBS KIDS adding human ASL interpreters to its shows who look like the characters they are translating, and Irish studio JAM Media’s development of Zaki Signs, a mo-cap project featuring an animated character who provides ASL content interpretation.