The Song Spinner is a 1995 Canadian made-for-television fantasy film, released by multiple different TV distributors including Hallmark (American) and The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Because the film only ever had a brief VHS tape release and limited syndication, finding a copy is very difficult and the film is considered to be lost media.
The film was based on a book of the same name by Pauline Le Bel.
The Song Spinner follows the story of Aurora, a little girl who lives in an authoritarian kingdom where all noise and music are forcibly minimized as much as possible. The kingdom is ruled over by the fascist Captain Nizzle, despite the actual king being Frilo the Magnificent. Aurora meets a mysterious woman named Zantalalia who gifts her a "song spinner", a magical harp-like device that releases beautiful music. She has to keep the song spinner a secret so that the Noise Police don't discover it. The film starred mostly Canadian actors including Meredith Henderson, Patti LuPone, John Neville, David Hemblen, Julian Richings, Lorne Cossette and Matthew Lerigny.
The film contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptation Deviation: In the book, the kingdom is called Pindrop. In the film, the kingdom is called Shandrilan.
- Adults Are Useless: Aurora and her little brother can't really depend on their indoctrinated parents to aid them in protecting the song spinner, or even tell them about the hidden device in the first place. The Noise Police and the mourning King Frilo are no help, either.
- All-Loving Hero: Aurora wants to help her kingdom despite the fact that most of the citizens, including her own parents, want her to just shut up and mind her own business so she doesn't get into trouble.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Aurora's little brother, who incessantly shouts the bizarre catchphrase "goodie ghostie!" from the film (although he does serve at least some use to Aurora later on).
- Big Bad: Captain Nizzle. Nizzle makes cruel and authoritarian decisions and takes advantage of the grieving King Frilo.
- Culture Police: Shandrilan literally has "Noise Police", constables who wear all black clothing and ushanka hats while they travel around on horseback arresting dissidents and censoring anything that makes music or noise.
- The Dissenter Is Always Right: Noise Police Constable Larch and Constable Callo arrest people but often are bothered by their jobs, and upon hearing the song spinner for the first time, they are enamoured by it and fully dissent from Captain Nizzle. They promptly arrest the Captain and take him away.
- Happy Ending: You know it's a happy ending when the characters all break into a musical number and dance while the sunlight comes in around them. Even the villain is merely arrested instead of executed or banished.
- Hero Antagonist: King Frilo was in such grief over Zantalalia leaving him that he allowed Captain Nizzle to take over. In the film's last act, he finally steps up, banishes Nizzle and welcomes music and song back into the kingsom.
- Magical Land: Shandrilan is an isolated kingdom full of snow where music and song have the power to heal people's spirits.
- Police Are Useless: Constable Larch and Constable Callo are pretty arbitrary about their jobs and get easily distracted by fun things.
