‘Nightmare Before Christmas’: Orchestra’s power is at times too much

The jingle of sleigh bells could be heard as the overture began — Christmas in the air!

Saturday night’s screening of “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas,” featuring live musical accompaniment by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, sold out the 2,700-seat Walt Disney Theater at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Not bad for a 25-year-old movie. But hearing it with live music offered a fresh take on the stop-motion animated film about the mayhem that ensues when Pumpkin King Jack Skellington decides to forego Halloween and take over Christmas.

For one, who remembered that this is a film with so much music? Danny Elfman’s score barely gives the musicians time to take a breath or lower their bows. A live hearing also showcases how Elfman slyly incorporated various styles of music into his score while uniting it all with a jangly sense of urgency.

The Dr. Phillips has hosted other concerts of this nature, with the original “Star Wars” trilogy and Harry Potter films among the most notable. But those films, for the most part, don’t feature songs like “Nightmare” does. Too often on Saturday, the orchestra overpowered the onscreen singing with words disappearing like ghosts in the night.

On the one hand, it’s a thrill to hear such a powerful orchestra. But on the other, it’s incredibly frustrating if you’re trying to enjoy a film and can’t hear what the characters are singing or saying.

Some of the quieter numbers were more successful, such as the plaintive “Sally’s Song.” “Oogie Boogie’s Song” also rang out loud and clear with its bluesy swagger.

In “Making Christmas,” there was a lovely orchestral contrast between the lightness of elves preparing for the holiday with a discordant heaviness as the denizens of Halloweentown try their hand at gift-wrapping.

Instrumental underscore gave the players a chance to really shine — the thrum of the basses as Lock, Shock and Barrel bound off to Oogie’s lair, or the triumphant brass as Jack takes off in his sleigh.

The closing credits, too, provide a lively gallop through the movie’s main themes. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Shame on those who leave while the credits music is being played. It is a concert — there are still people on stage performing. When those early leavers check their trick-or-treat bags on Halloween, I hope they find a lot of rocks.