At a glance

Aword of advice to those who attend “Pixar in Concert”: bring tissues.

The Saturday show will feature the Columbus Symphony performing parts of the musical scores from 14 Pixar films as clips are shown on an overhead projection screen.

“The thing about Pixar films is they delve into some deep emotions,” said Jonathan Heely, director of music publishing and concert licensing for the Disney Music Group, who helped produce the show.

“When we picked out some sections ( of music) to use, we may have erred on the side of ( selecting) some really heartfelt stuff and laid it on pretty thick.”

An example, Heely said, is a scene from “Up” that deals with the death of the main character’s wife.

“That’s right at the end of the first half,” Heely said of the show, which is about 80 minutes long and includes an intermission. “I’ve been to many of the concerts, and when the intermission lights come up, I always see people wiping their eyes.”

Heely is quick to add that the show also contains plenty of upbeat moments.

“You have the energy of ‘ Cars’ and ‘ Monsters Inc.,’ so those have a positive vibe,” he said.

Jena Huebner, a doublebass player in the symphony, said she is looking forward to the concert in part because she and sons Ethan Blake, 13, and Gideon Blake, 10, have enjoyed many Pixar films together.

She said the boys particularly liked “Cars” but also enjoyed “WALL-E,” “Up” and “Ratatouille.”

“I always have fun playing more of these pop-culture shows because it’s part of my regular life,” said Huebner, an East Side resident. “And some of the greatest music composed for symphony orchestras has come from the movies, if you think about John Williams (who composed the soundtrack of the original ‘Star Wars’ and many other films) and ‘ The Lord of the Rings’ ( by composer Howard Shore).”

Huebner said she valued the variety within the symphony season.

“It’s important for the audience not to have the same thing week after week,” she said. “You can come to a classics concert one week, then Pixar the next.”

Huebner’s sons are not old enough to have seen some of the Pixar films during first runs in theaters. The franchise began with “Toy Story” in 1995.

The symphony show, which debuted in 2012, features some instruments not found in an orchestra — such as saxophones, which are necessary to play several of the songs composed by Randy Newman.

That includes the encore, which is the iconic “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story.”

“This is a celebration of all the Pixar films,” Heely said. “And it’s the kind of program I think Walt ( Disney) would be proud of.”

Speaking of “Toy Story,” Heely said he believes the next symphony/Pixar project may be a retrospective of the first three films and a preview of a planned “Toy Story 4” that is supposedly in the works.

“Pixar in Concert” Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. 614-469-0939, www.columbussymphony.com 8 p.m. Saturday $25 to $68