MacGuffin: Difference between revisions

Line 3:

{{quote|"''In crook stories it is almost always the necklace,

''and in spy stories it is most always the papers.''"~~|'''[[Alfred Hitchcock]]'''}}~~

''and in spy stories it is most always the papers.''"

|'''[[Alfred Hitchcock]]'''}}

'''MacGuffin''' (a.k.a. McGuffin or maguffin) is a term for a motivating element in a story that is used to drive the plot. It actually serves no further purpose. It won't pop up again later, it won't explain the ending, it won't actually do anything except possibly distract you while you try to figure out its significance. In some cases, it won't even be shown. It is usually a mysterious package/artifact/superweapon that everyone in the story is chasing.

Line 47:

Line 48:

* [[MacGuffin Location]]: The '''MacGuffin''' isn't a thing or a person, it's a place.

* [[MacGuffin Melee]]: When multiple groups searching for the '''MacGuffin''' find it at the same time and a fight breaks out.

* [[MacGuffin Title]]: The MacGuffin is right there in the title of the work.

* [[MacGuffin Title]]: The MacGuffin is right there in the title of the work. <!--

* [[MacMuffin]]: the MacGuffin has been replaced with something unexpected or comical

* [[MacMuffin]]: the MacGuffin has been replaced with something unexpected or comical -->

* [[Memento MacGuffin]]: A MacGuffin that holds sentimental value to one or more characters.

* [[Mineral MacGuffin]]: A gem, a jewel, or a rock of some type that holds great power; in spite of the name, may or may not be an actual '''MacGuffin'''.

Line 59:

Line 60:

* [[Stolen MacGuffin Reveal]]: The '''MacGuffin''' was actually a fake, or stolen before the thief got it.

* [[Timeline-Altering MacGuffin]]: An otherwise unimportant item from the future that, if left in the past during time travel, will have [[Butterfly Effect|serious consequences]].

See also [[It's the Journey That Counts]], [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle]], [[All That Glitters]], [[Chekhov's Gun]] and [[Magic Feather]].

Line 66:

'''Do not confuse with [[Plot Device]]. Please, don't.'''

== Anime and Manga ==

* [[Princess Mononoke]] has ''two'' MacGuffins. One is the curse on the main character's arm (a [[Clingy MacGuffin]]) which he is trying to remove before he died from the infection, and the other is the Forest Spirit's head, said to grant eternal life to those who own it. Despite both playing prominent roles neither has any functional impact until their relative plots are resolved at the end.

* ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'' has ''two'' MacGuffins. One is the curse on the main character's arm (a [[Clingy MacGuffin]]) which he is trying to remove before he died from the infection, and the other is the Forest Spirit's head, said to grant eternal life to those who own it. Despite both playing prominent roles neither has any functional impact until their relative plots are resolved at the end.

* The Imperial Seal and the Dragon Jade from ''[[Ikki Tousen]]''.

* Every single episode of ''[[GetBackers]]'' revolves around one of these. Somewhat [[Justified Trope|justified]], as the characters retrieve, transport, protect, etc. things for a living.

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', the titular treasure is a MacGuffin; nobody knows exactly what it is, but everyone wants to get their hands on it. This is even more evident in the earlier drafts for the manga called "Romance Dawn", where there was no mention of One Piece, and Luffy was a pirate just for the hell of it.

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', the titular treasure is a MacGuffin; nobody knows exactly what it is, but everyone wants to get their hands on it. This is even more evident in the earlier drafts for the manga called "Romance Dawn", where there was no mention of the One Piece, and Luffy was a pirate just for the hell of it.

** Recently it has been hinted that some living (and recently living) characters know what it is and that when it is discovered it could possibly alter the entire world, though at this point it still qualifies as a MacGuffin.

* The Crystal Flowers from ''[[Petite Princess Yucie]]'', giving the Platinum Princess candidates an excuse to visit each other's worlds.

Line 94:

* The anime version of ''[[World Destruction]]'' is about the World Destruction Committee, who spend the entire series carrying around an orb capable of destroying the world. (Only one of them is capable of using it, however, and he has no desire to destroy the world.)

* One of [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s numerous completely fabricated diseases in ''[[Black Jack]]'' is a disease called 'MacGuffin Syndrome', said to be incurable (or, at least, impossible to heal without a lot of stamina). It was first mentioned as the disease that a character suffers from... take a wild guess at what it's used for.

* The demon tool Brew in [[Soul Eater]]. Originally sought out by Shibusen for no clear purpose other than to avoid the other guys getting their hands on it, it was used as a bargaining chip by Medusa. She tricked Arachne into thinking she had the real thing, and gave Brew itself to Shinigami in exchange for information and a deal to bring down Arachnaphobia. The one occasion the MacGuffin tool itself does something significant, is in a Chekov's Gun-like moment during the Baba Yaga arc. Its [[Amplifier Artifact|soul amplification]] ability saves Death the Kid's life. And his left arm. Now placed in Noah's book, it may well turn up again to...be passed around by the cast once more.

* The demon tool Brew in ''[[Soul Eater]]''. Originally sought out by Shibusen for no clear purpose other than to avoid the other guys getting their hands on it, it was used as a bargaining chip by Medusa. She tricked Arachne into thinking she had the real thing, and gave Brew itself to Shinigami in exchange for information and a deal to bring down Arachnaphobia. The one occasion the MacGuffin tool itself does something significant, is in a Chekov's Gun-like moment during the Baba Yaga arc. Its [[Amplifier Artifact|soul amplification]] ability saves Death the Kid's life. And his left arm. Now placed in Noah's book, it may well turn up again to...be passed around by the cast once more.

* In a sidestory in the ''[[Fruits Basket]]'' manga, Akito's mother, Ren, and Akito manipulate various people in their family over the posession of a box left behind by Akito's father, Akira. When the box is opened, {{spoiler|it's empty. Akito's caretakers said Akira's soul was in the box, but Akito had long since stopped believing that and just used the mystery surrounding the box to jerk Ren around.}}

* The Shinzaho in ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'' (Takiko's necklace, Suzuno's mirror, Yui's earring, and {{spoiler|Miaka's unborn child}}). Used to summon [[The Four Gods]], especially if (for some reason) the summoning ceremony can't be performed normally. Half the plot is therefore the search for them.

* The Dokuro Stones from ''[[Yatterman]]'' would definitely apply.

* The Eto Gun from [[Et Cetera]]. Very nearly ~~EVERYONE~~ Ming Chao meets is after it.

* The Eto Gun from ''[[Et Cetera]]''. Very nearly ''everyone'' Ming Chao meets is after it.

* Celty's head in ''[[Durarara!!]]'' is a MacGuffin that falls in and out of focus, as no one who has it knows quite what to do with it, and Celty herself isn't sure she wants it.

* Protoculture from [[Robotech]]. It's the mysterious energy source that drives Robotechnology. But in terms of storytelling, it exists mostly to tie together the three component anime series Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospeada. in the original series, all the mecha and ships were powered by your run of the mill nuclear fusion.

* Protoculture from ''[[Robotech]]''. It's the mysterious energy source that drives Robotechnology. But in terms of storytelling, it exists mostly to tie together the three component anime series ''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'', ''[[Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross]]'', and ''[[Genesis Climber Mospeada]]''. in the original series, all the mecha and ships were powered by your run of the mill nuclear fusion.

== Comic Books ==

Line 111:

* The Exploding Nanites in the [[Thunderbolts]]' blood that keep the [[Boxed Crook]]s contained are referred to as a MacGuffin by Bullseye in #125.

* The lump of bombastium in [[Carl Barks]]'s "A Cold Bargain": an [[Idiot Ball]] and MacGuffin rolled into one, made of pure [[Unobtainium]]. No-one knows what it does, but since it's so rare that the substance isn't found anywhere else outside that one lump, and because they don't actually know it ''doesn't'' do something amazing, everyone wants it. Scrooge McDuck bids an enormous sum on it on impulse and then has to go to great lengths to maintain the possibly useless lump's existence. {{spoiler|In the end, it turns out it can be used to make loads and loads of ice cream, which does make the deal profitable.}}

* In the second issue of the [[Sonic X (comics)|comic book adaptation]] of [[Sonic X]], Sonic and friends investigate a sunken ship owned by the long-dead pirate "Captain Seamus "Red-Eye" MacGuffin", and later outright call the ship "The MacGuffin". Subtle, it is not.

* In the second issue of the [[Sonic X (comics)|comic book adaptation]] of ''[[Sonic X]]'', Sonic and friends investigate a sunken ship owned by the long-dead pirate "Captain Seamus "Red-Eye" MacGuffin", and later outright call the ship "The MacGuffin". Subtle, it is not.

* The ''[[Sin City]]'' story ''Big Fat Kill'' has a [[squick]]y example of a MacGuffin: a severed head. [[It Makes Sense in Context]].

* ''[[PS238]]'' has an [[In-Universe]] term for those: "[[Fun with Acronyms|OOPS]]" ([http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/2017-08-04/ Object of Overwhelming Power and Significance]).

Line 117:

== Film ==

* The quintessential MacGuffin is ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]''. It gets the characters together, pits them against each other, but turns out to be worthless.

* "The Rembrandt Letters" in ''The Silver Streak.''

* "The Rembrandt Letters" in ''[[The Silver Streak]]''.

* The identity of "Rosebud" in ''[[Citizen Kane]]''. {{spoiler|[[It Was His Sled]].}}

* The Travel Visas in [[Casablanca]].

* The Travel Visas in ''[[Casablanca]]''.

* The perfect [[Alfred Hitchcock]] example is the "government secrets" that motivate the action in ''[[North by Northwest]]'' (1959).

** Also the man the hero is mistaken for, especially when it's revealed {{spoiler|he doesn't really exist}}.

** One of [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s earliest examples of a MacGuffin is the uranium sand that [[Claude Rains]] was smuggling in wine bottles in ''[[Notorious]]'' ("A vintage sand" is what [[Cary Grant]] called it). When studio execs told Hitchcock that movie audiences wouldn't understand why the uranium sand was so important, Hitchcock answered, "Then we'll make it uncut industrial diamonds. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as the villains want it. That's the MacGuffin, that's the motor that drive the plot."

* The Green Destiny sword in ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'' is a classical MacGuffin. While it does see a lot of combat and is a very good sword, ~~it's~~ value is mostly ideological. It doesn't have any special abilities except of withstanding considerable abuse and being perfectly crafted.

* The Green Destiny sword in ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'' is a classical MacGuffin. While it does see a lot of combat and is a very good sword, its value is mostly ideological. It doesn't have any special abilities except for withstanding considerable abuse and being perfectly crafted.

* ''[[Titanic]]'' (1997) is framed around the search for a diamond called Le Cœur de la Mer (The Heart of the Sea/Ocean), which is quickly forgotten until the end of the story, {{spoiler|when its owner throws it overboard so no one can have it}}.

* The stolen money in ''[[Psycho]]''. In reality, [[Halfway Plot Switch|everything about the plot becomes irrelevant at the half-way point]].

Line 136:

* In ''[[Cast Away]]'', the one box that [[Tom Hanks]] never opens, even delivers at the end. We never know what was in it. However, in an [[Easter Egg]] on the DVD, it reveals a press conference by the director who, when asked what was in the box, said it was {{spoiler|a solar powered satellite phone (possibly not seriously)}}.

* The title train of ''[[3:10 to Yuma]]'' is a classic MacGuffin.

* ''The Spanish Prisoner'' revolves around a secret and valuable industrial "Process" its protagonist has invented.

* ''[[The Spanish Prisoner]]'' revolves around a secret and valuable industrial "Process" its protagonist has invented.

* Each ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' film involves the search for a MacGuffin: the Ark of the Covenant in ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''; the Sankara stones in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]''; the Holy Grail in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]''; the [[Crystal Skull]] in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]''. [[George Lucas]] and [[Harrison Ford]] has even said that the items are MacGuffins, the stories could be told with almost anything else in its place.

* When the screenplay for ''[[Good Will Hunting]]'' was published as a book, director Gus Van Sant wrote a preface in which he admitted that Will's math talents were a MacGuffin: he doesn't solve a math problem the details of whose solution affect the plot (otherwise, the movie would be more a science-fiction story about the invention of fusion power, or whatever).

** Another Gus Van Sant example is Mike's mother in ''[[My Own Private Idaho]]'' - the driving force for the plot is him trying to find his long-lost mother, but in the end he never does, even though he goes as far as Italy to find that she's just left. [[No MacGuffin, No Winner]] perhaps?

* For that matter, there's the titular proof in ''Proof''. What it ''is'' doesn't matter, only whether [[Anthony Hopkins]] or his daughter [[Gwyneth Paltrow]] was the one who proved it.

* For that matter, there's the titular proof in ''[[Proof]]''. What it ''is'' doesn't matter, only whether [[Anthony Hopkins]] or his daughter [[Gwyneth Paltrow]] was the one who proved it.

* ''[[Escape from New York]]'': the tape with the secret of nuclear fusion.

* In [[Mel Brooks]]' ''[[High Anxiety]],'' which contains parodies of numerous Hitchcock films, the lead character (who is terrified of heights) is checking into a hotel when the receptionist informs him that though the hotel had reserved him a lower-level floor, "a Mr. MacGuffin called and requested we change it to the 17th floor." Though MacGuffin is probably a reference to the villains stalking the main character, the name is never mentioned again.

* ''[[It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]'' is based around a bunch of [[The Fool|fools]] trying to locate and claim a hidden stash of $350,000.

** That's $2.62 million dollars in ~~2010~~, by the way.

** That's over $2.85 million dollars in 2019, by the way.

* [[Lampshaded]] in ''[[The Departed]]'': "Our target: microprocessors. Yes, those. I don't know what they are, you don't know what they are, who gives a fuck?"

* Done for humor in the Beatles' movie ''Help!''. Ringo is given the ring of the goddess Kaili, which he can't get off and which various villains and bad guys are trying to get. One [[Mad Scientist]] comes out with the classic MacGuffin line: "With a ring like that, I could--dare I say it?--''rule the world!!''"

* Done for humor in the Beatles' movie ''[[Help!]]''. Ringo is given the ring of the goddess Kaili, which he can't get off and which various villains and bad guys are trying to get. One [[Mad Scientist]] comes out with the classic MacGuffin line: "With a ring like that, I could--dare I say it?--''rule the world!!''"

* ''[[Wonder Woman]]'' (1974). A list of U.S. undercover agents stolen by the [[Big Bad]] and put up for sale to the highest bidder.

* In the 1979 film ''The Double McGuffin'' (narrated by [[Orson Welles]]), a group of precocious children (including [[The Facts of Life|Lisa Whelchel]]) find a briefcase full of cash and run afoul of [[Ernest Borgnine|Ernie Borgnine]] and Lyle Alzado.

* In the 1979 film ''[[The Double McGuffin]]'' (narrated by [[Orson Welles]]), a group of precocious children (including [[The Facts of Life|Lisa Whelchel]]) find a briefcase full of cash and run afoul of [[Ernest Borgnine|Ernie Borgnine]] and Lyle Alzado.

* The "Beaugard" painting in ''[[Marx Brothers|Animal Crackers]]''.

* The gold in ''[[The Italian Job]]''.

** Less so in the remake, if we go by the 'only counts if it's not spent' rule. Much is made about how various character plan to/do spend it.

* Raising the money to pay the orphanage's debts in ''[[The Blues Brothers]]''

* Three [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] movies have these. They are the ATAC transmitter from ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'' and, to a lesser extent, the GPS encoder from ''[[Tomorrow Never Dies]]''. There's also the Lector Encoder in ''[[From Russia with Love]]'', which only exists to get James Bond to Istanbul.

* Three ''[[James Bond (film)|James Bond]]'' movies have these. They are the ATAC transmitter from ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'' and, to a lesser extent, the GPS encoder from ''[[Tomorrow Never Dies]]''. There's also the Lector Encoder in ''[[From Russia with Love]]'', which only exists to get James Bond to Istanbul.

** ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'' was also the former [[Trope Namer]] of [[No MacGuffin, No Winner]] ([[The Trope Formerly Known as X|the trope formerly known as]] [[Detente Comrade]]).

* In ''[[Road To]] Rio'', there are the mysterious Papers that have no bearing on the plot besides having an interesting safe-cracking scene. Lampshaded when {{spoiler|[[Bob Hope]] and [[Bing Crosby]] say that "the world must never know" their contents.}} At the end, when the papers have been recovered and they're about to be read, they get torn up instead, since they've served their dramatic purpose.

Line 163:

* ''What's Up, Tiger Lily?'' has several factions out to kill to possess the perfect egg salad recipe, stolen from a potentate who tells our hero "It is written that he who makes the best egg salad shall rule over heaven and earth. Don't ask me why egg salad, I have enough aggravation."

* The pyramid in ''[[Despicable Me]]''.

* The titular artifact in ''Romancing the Stone.''

* The titular artifact in ''[[Romancing the Stone]]''.

** Subverted in the sequel ''The Jewel of the Nile," which turns out not to be a jewel at all.

** Subverted in the sequel ''[[The Jewel of the Nile]]'', which turns out not to be a jewel at all.

* The 1964 Chevy Malibu in ''[[Repo Man]].''

* The Mielofon, a device that can read the mind of any life form, in ''[[Guest From the Future]]''.

* ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''. You could switch the Grail for an Ostrich Egg and the plot would not have been affected. You never even really ~~SEE~~ the Grail, just a Grail-shaped beacon! Bad Zoot.

* ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''. You could switch the Grail for an Ostrich Egg and the plot would not have been affected. You never even really ''see'' the Grail, just a Grail-shaped beacon! Bad Zoot.

* The neutrinos in ''2012'' (it's mostly unintentional due to bad writing); not only do the planet's neutrinos [[Did Not Do the Research|"mutate and heat up the earth"]] and lead to "the end of the world", they never get another mention or fixed yet {{spoiler|everything works out}}.

* The neutrinos in ''[[2012]]'' (it's mostly unintentional due to bad writing); not only do the planet's neutrinos [[Did Not Do the Research|"mutate and heat up the earth"]] and lead to "the end of the world", they never get another mention or fixed yet {{spoiler|everything works out}}.

* The papers in ''[[Mystery Team]]''.

* The Ford [[GT 40]] in [[The Fast and the Furious|Fast Five]]. Also doubles as a [[Cool Car]].

* The Ford [[GT 40]] in ''[[The Fast and the Furious|Fast Five]]''. Also doubles as a [[Cool Car]].

* The Galaxy on Orion's belt in ''[[Men in Black]]''. {{spoiler|It's a miniaturized galaxy disguised as the belt-charm on the dead jeweler's cat, which is named Orion.}}