How two Disney Legends teamed up for a new hand-drawn animated film (Exclusive)
Director and animator Andreas Deja’s new hand-drawn animated film “Mushka” features new music from the late Richard Sherman.
“Mushka” debuts today, Dec. 15, 2025, on streaming platforms (watch via Apple, Amazon, or Google Play). The titular character of the 28-minute movie is a Siberian tiger adopted from the wild by a young girl, Sarah.
The film marks the directorial debut of Andreas Deja, a longtime animator known for bringing to life Scar in “The Lion King,” Lilo in “Lilo & Stitch,” and other beloved characters at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
In an exclusive interview with AttractionsMagazine.com, Deja shared how songwriter Richard Sherman came to contribute some of his final work for “Mushka.”
Some of Richard Sherman’s final music
The late Richard Sherman, who passed away in 2024 at age 95, wrote a new song for “Mushka,” adding to a résumé that includes “It’s a Small World” and all the songs from “Mary Poppins,” among a catalog of other classic tunes written with his late brother, Robert Sherman.
Both Deja and Sherman are Disney Legends, the highest honor bestowed by The Walt Disney Company.
Photo courtesy of Andreas Deja
Photo courtesy of Disney
“It was just magic,” Deja said of working with Sherman. “Believe me, I would not have asked Richard … I knew him socially … but I would never ask him to write a song for my little film. That would never occur to me.”
During a lunch, Sherman asked Deja what he’d been working on. Deja described “Mushka” in its early conception. Sherman’s reply: “Maybe somebody can help you write a song for your movie.”
The song, “Mushka’s Lullaby,” accompanies the end credits with lyrics but also “became the musical centerpiece of the film” in instrumental arrangements, Deja noted. “You can use it in a dramatic way. You can use it in a romantic way. It just lends itself to several types of arrangements. It set the tone. It’s a melancholic piece.”
“It was a joy to work with Richard,” Deja said. “Once in a while, I had to step back and pinch myself, going like, ‘Is this really happening? It is!’ I grew up with his ‘Jungle Book’ songs. When I was a kid, that was the first Disney film I ever saw at the age of 10. I had the records and played those songs over and over again. And here you are, finding yourself working with this master.”
Behind the hand-drawn animation of ‘Mushka’
“Mushka” is a hand-drawn animated film, lovingly crafted by artists who approached the film with an intentionality toward their art form. The animation of “Mushka” was inspired by the style prominent in the 1960s, which contained a rough, sketch-like quality to the drawings as a result of a new camera at the time.
“You really see the animators’ drawings on the screen,” Deja said, pointing out that “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” was the first film to utilize the process. “You can see that on the villainess, Cruella De Vil, how Marc Davis drew her very sketchy and loose. I love that because it seems like there’s an extra life that that process gives the character. The pencil lines are just dancing on the screen and it’s just fascinating to me.”
Artwork courtesy of Andreas Deja
Image courtesy of Andreas Deja
Deja said the style lent itself well to the story of “Mushka,” set in the rugged terrain of Siberia. Also more rugged: Mushka himself. In contrast to an anthropomorphized cat like Scar in “The Lion King,” Mushka doesn’t talk, and more or less behaves like a real tiger would.
“It’s a bit more difficult to keep an animal real,” Deja said. “It’s nature. There would be a way of telling a story of a tiger where the tiger talks, but then it’s a different kind of fantasy. … That wouldn’t work for this particular story.”
Deja’s current work: Imagineering Villains Land for Magic Kingdom
Andreas Deja also spoke with us about his current work as a consultant with Walt Disney Imagineering on the upcoming Villains Land project for Walt Disney World. See our separate coverage for Deja’s update on that.
“Mushka” is now available on streaming platforms (watch via Apple, Amazon, or Google Play).
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