TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

The Arts

HBO MAX Unveils ASL version of “Barbie”

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The much-anticipated arrival of mega-hit “Barbie” on streaming included a special feature, “Barbie with ASL,” in which a signer interprets the movie for the Deaf community. 

“HBO Max is the premiere destination for storytelling, so being able to share the biggest movie of the year in ASL, the first language for many, will make this story resonate in a more meaningful way,” Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, said in a press release. “By offering sign language interpretation, we will build upon the film’s empowering message of inclusiveness and offer a unique viewing experience for the Deaf community to enjoy with family and friends.” 

The streaming service kicked off the ASL version with a special community screening in Los Angeles alongside the non-profit Deaf West Theatre, advocacy group RespectAbility, signer Leila Hanaumi, and Barbie star Margot Robbie. Read more

Related story: British Air introduces Signed Language Video for Deaf Passengers 

TravelAbility TakeAway: This is an important milestone given the huge footprint of the Barbie movie. In addition to increasing access to the movie for the Deaf Community, the ASL version and the live event highlight the artistry of ASL signer Leila Hanaumi. Her performance is more than translation; its an act of expressive storytelling.

Oregon Coast Scores $1.1 Million in Grants for Accessibility

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Historical photo in sepia tones of an older Black man playing a violin

As we reported in last month’s Insider, Travel Oregon has awarded $3.6 million in competitive grants to DMOs, attractions, and cities for inclusion and accessibility projects. Of that total, more than $1 million will go to Oregon Coast organizations. 

The scope and diversity of the funded projects is vast. Travelers with disabilities will gain both new and improved access to a wide range of natural, recreational, and historic sites. The grants will also fund accessibility studies by Wheel the World in two regions along the coast. Read more.

TravelAbility TakeAway: If you want to see the impact that all of you are making through your participation in TravelAbility, take a trip to Oregon. Travel Oregon, which sent more than 30 staff members to the Savannah summit, is putting into practice ideas and partnerships they’ve developed through active engagement with the network. It’s inspiring to see an ambitious program implemented state-wide.

Actors With Intellectual Disabilities Steal the Show in “Champions”

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Five actors with disabilities, including Down Syndrome, wearing basketball uniforms huddle in a scene from the film "Champions"

Never mind Woody Harrelson. The real standouts of the movie Champions, directed by Bobby Farrelly and adapted from a Spanish film by Mark Rizzo, are the actors who portray the Friends basketball team.

“As a writer, you hope that the actors like the material and that they elevate it in some way,” Rizzo said in a recent interview. “In this film, each and every member of the cast did exactly that. I was blown away by how the funny scenes were just funnier with them in them. They made brilliant choices that I could not have imagined.”

Woody Harrelson plays a tough minor-league coach whose dream of working in the NBA is derailed when he is court-mandated to work with a team of players with intellectual disabilities, the Friends.

Rizzo said his goal was to allow plenty of room for the young actors to make the creative choices necessary for bringing their characters to life.

“For me, it was making sure that the disabled people in the movie carried as much story and as much agency as the non-disabled people. That was really my sole focus. I wanted to give them as many choices and emotional arcs as any other character would have.” Read more.

TravelAbility Takeaway: Who doesn’t love a good underdog sports movie? Harrelson is convincing in the Tom Hanks “there’s-no-crying-in baseball-role”, but the movie is stolen by the team of actors with intellectual disabilities. They are at once funny and believable. Note: Both the original Spanish film and the American remake draw inspiration from the true story of the Aderes basketball team, a Valencia-based team of players with intellectual disabilities who who win multiple championships in Spain.

Tips on Accessible Solo Travel by Chelsea Bear, a TravelAbility Board Member

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Woman wearing sunglasses and smiling as she stands in front of a body of water

Research. Planning. More research. Repeat.

That’s the message threaded through Chelsea Bear’s Trip Advisor article on solo travel for people with disabilities: You can’t be overprepared.

Chelsea confesses that as a person with cerebral palsy who uses an electric scooter, she used to think that solo travel was not an option for her.  Now, she writes, “at age 30, I can happily say that my younger self’s beliefs and fears were completely wrong—I’ve traveled to 10 countries outside of the United States and dozens of states domestically.” In addition to tapping her own experience, Chelsea shares tips from leading travel influencers including Corey Lee, Sylvia Longmire, and Houston Vandergriff. Tips range from zip ties to extra batteries to mapping every conceivable destination and resource ahead of time. Read more.

Disability Opportunity Fund Awards $250,000 in their own Shark Tank

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Group of 13 people posing with an oversized check bearing the Maidenbaum logo and standing in front of a Maidenbaum backdrop

Long Islanders typically cringe at the mention of sharks, but eight companies serving the disability community were thrilled to enter the Shark Tank in Garden City last month organized by the Disability Opportunity Fund (DOF). The fund gave out $250,000 during the pitch fest to support product development and job creation benefiting individuals with disabilities. First prize of $50,000 went to Valence Variations, which has developed an AI-powered app that can read and interpret a speaker’s emotions.

“Thank you so much to the Disability Opportunity Fund for this opportunity,” said Valence Vibrations Co-Founder and CEO Chloe Duckworth. “This capital is going to accelerate our growth to be able to support more neurodiverse people and help in building digital accessibility.”

The Shark Tank competition was part of the DOFs (DOF) 15th anniversary celebration. The evening also included a major funding announcement from the Maidenbaum Property Tax Reduction Group, which together with DOF awarded $75,000 in grants to 15 Long Island nonprofit organizations that support people with disabilities. Each organization received a $5,000 grant to continue and expand on their work. Read more.

TravelAbility TakeAway: Are Shark Tank competitions taking a bite out of the traditional phone book-sized grant proposal? (By the way, what’s a phone book?) That could be a welcome trend in the industry, particularly for the extroverts out there who make it look easy. Don’t be fooled: Pitching to an audience is still a lot of work and a lot of pressure.

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