Every ‘Narnia’ Reference in ‘Ziggy Starfish’

Despite not writing Ziggy Starfish, the film fits my creative sensibility very well. I liked the script almost immediately, but ironically it wasn’t until after I choose it for my first graduate film assignment that I realized it had similarities to The Chronicles of Narnia. And once I realized this, I went all in on making references to the film series. Ironically, the film was also shot in the year following the pivotal fifteenth anniversary of the release of the first film, meaning I made this during the period in real-time in which the Pevensies returned to England. Here are all the references in Ziggy Starfish, which you can watch here: https://vimeo.com/585053887.

Umbrella - in the opening shot, there’s a blue umbrella leaning against the bookshelf, which is a direct reference to Tumnus’s umbrella in his first scene. It is ironic that it is in the first scene, since this was part of the image that lead to C.S. Lewis writing the book series

Opening image of Ziggy Starfish

Artwork - in this first image, there are several paintings and drawings, all done by myself. This includes part of a drawing that included the Stone Table, a watercolor painting of Lucy entering Narnia, and a watercolor painting of Lucy entering the wardrobe, the latter of which gets its own close-up. The painting with a lot more white on it was the only one of these made specifically for the film.

Brown packages - These can barely be seen in the wide shot where the title appears, but the umbrella sits on top of some brown packages. This not only works in the context of the story, since Judy is about to go off to college, but is also a direct reference to the packages the Tumnus carries.

An umbrella, brown packages, and paintings decorate Judy's room.

Orange - On top of the shelf in some shots (in a continuity error, it doesn’t appear in every shot) is an orange, and at the end, Ziggy is holding an orange, though it isn’t obvious on screen. This is a direct reference to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader when Eustace steals an orange

Rain Noise - It’s subtle, but there is rain noise in the background throughout the film. This was a detail in the script, but it fits as a Narnia reference since, in the film, a rainy day is what first leads Lucy to the wardrobe

Approaching the door - Possibly the most obvious reference in the film, Judy approaches her closet, where she finds something magical inside. I used these scenes from the Narnia film, especially the scene where Lucy goes to the wardrobe at night, with Edmund following, as an inspiration for how I approached this scene.

Narnia vs. Ziggy Starfish comparison - Approaching the door

Removing the blanket off of Ziggy - In the script, Judy opens the closet door to find Ziggy. However, I added the blanket because I felt it would add an sense of mystery and draw out the suspense of the moment. I got this idea from the first Narnia movie, in which Lucy removes the blanket from the wardrobe before entering, a detail that was not in the book.

Coming into the light - This is a subtle one and it’s debatable whether or not I succeeded, but I wanted Ziggy to emerge from the darkness of the closet into the light of her room. This was inspired by the moment in which Lord Bern is first seen in the dungeon in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Stuffed lion - I went to several toy stores before finding a stuffed lion in Montrose for the film. While most of the toys shown in the film are mine, along with a few items from Chapman’s prop house, this was the only toy that I bought specifically for this project as an obvious nod to Aslan. When Ziggy heads back into the closet, he holds the stuffed lion.

Items within the closet.

Moth Balls - It’s subtle, but there are a few small foam balls in the closet, with one seen toward the front in the shot of all the items inside there. These are meant to be mothballs, a nod to the ones that fall out of the wardrobe in both the book and movie.

Sword - It’s in the background, but there is a small sword standing upright in some shots in the closet. I received this as a Secret Santa gift during undergrad while on tour with my church, Gator Wesley.

Dust that looks like snow - This didn’t make it into the final film, but I had hoped to have all the toys covered in dust in a way that made them look like they were covered in snow. However, this was too difficult to achieve with our small number of crew numbers, so I dropped the idea.

Hide-and-Seek - This line was always in the script since I joined the project, but it does make for a great nod to the movie, where a game of hide-and-seek is what brings Lucy into the movie (and in the book, she returns to the wardrobe a second time during the game).

Questioning Why They Left - This is the script, but Ziggy asks Judy “why did you leave?” I find this similar to in Prince Caspian when Peter states that they didn’t mean to leave Narnia in the previous film.

Lifting hands in reaction - This was a recommendation I gave Charlie Jackson, who played Judy, when Ziggy rips the photos. I got the idea from Reepicheep’s reaction to Eustace crying.

Narnia vs. Ziggy Starfish comparison - Lifting hands in reaction to another character

Looking at ripped photos - This is something that wasn’t in the script, but I added the beat of Judy glancing down at the ripped photos before going to comfort Ziggy. This idea came from the image of Edmund looking at the broken painting of Tumnus’s father, which also parallels him holding the broken photograph of his father at the beginning of the film.

Narnia vs. Ziggy Starfish comparison - Broken images

Trying to hand Ziggy tissues - Also something that wasn’t in the script, Judy trying to hand a tissue to Ziggy is a direct reference to Lucy’s handkerchief that she gives to Mr. Tumnus.

Turkish Delight - If you pay attention to the short last scene, you’ll notice that Judy is holding something red, in addition to the finished popsicle stick. This is in fact, Turkish Delight, specifically the rose flavor from the shop Nory Candy in the San Fernando Valley. This was basically an excuse to try actual Turkish Delight while including a great Easter egg to Narnia.

What They’re Actually Watching - In the context of the film, at the very end, Judy and Ziggy are watching some type of cartoon, based on the sound effects. However, during the actual film, I wanted to make it the actual Narnia film because why not? If I remember correctly, while I wanted it to be the meeting Tumnus scene, I believe it’s actually the waterfall scene they’re watching because of the lighting contrast between shots that was reflected on their faces, at least in the close-up.

Other Non-Narnia References:

There are a few references that are not Narnia-related that I want to point out.

Ratatouille - While I don’t think it was intentionally done by Matthew Kaminski, the composer for the film, the opening does sound like the song, “La Festin,” from Ratatouille, a movie that I love so I’m fine with the comparisons.

UF and Other Universities - In the opening montage, there’s a shot of a list of colleges, with some crossed out and some marked with arrows. While this is a Chapman film, I decided to have Judy plan to go to the University of Florida, my alma mater, instead. The gator seen is an actual piece of merch I got early on in college, and I was going to include a gator pillow in the final scene but forgot to bring it out when we got to that scene (it was a really tight space). I included Chapman and UCLA, where I also attended, as well as the University of South Carolina, since I grew up a fan. To fill up the list, I looked up the alma maters of all the crew members, as well as their rivals. I had the rivals crossed out, which is why Florida State University is crossed out at the top of the page.

Drawing - The drawing that Ziggy rips up had to look like it was drawn by a little girl, so I took inspiration from my own work at the time. The drawing of Judy was taken almost directly from a drawing I made as a child.

Real childhood drawing vs. the recreation for Ziggy Starfish

Final Shot - Another film I watched ahead of filming for inspiration was Christopher Robin, which shares several themes. I especially took inspiration from the ending of that film for the final shot.

Christopher Robin vs. Ziggy Starfish comparison - Ending shot.