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# {{KungFuPanda.TropesEToM}} -> * MacGuffin: The Dragon Scroll is rumored to bestow limitless power on the reader but is reserved for the Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung desires the scroll regardless of not being chosen, and when rejected he went on a rampage. The heroes decide to use the scroll's power in the final hour before Tai Lung arrives, [[spoiler:but it turns out to merely be reflective paper. [[MagicFeather Po realizes that it's metaphorical, and that it actually means that the true power of the Dragon Warrior is within.]]]]
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# {{KungFuPanda.{{KungFuPanda1.TropesEToM}} -> * MacGuffin: The Dragon Scroll is rumored to bestow limitless power on the reader but is reserved for the Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung desires the scroll regardless of not being chosen, and when rejected he went on a rampage. The heroes decide to use the scroll's power in the final hour before Tai Lung arrives, [[spoiler:but it turns out to merely be reflective paper. [[MagicFeather Po realizes that it's metaphorical, and that it actually means that the true power of the Dragon Warrior is within.]]]]
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According to SquarePegRoundTrope.LToP, MacGuffin is an object that [[PlotDevice drives the plot]], but it's ''not important / arbitrary'' what it does, it can be swapped with anything else. Not only it creates conflicts with many of its subtropes, it's not "lots of people ignore", but hardly anyone ever thinks that's what it's supposed to be.
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According to SquarePegRoundTrope.LToP, MacGuffin is an object that [[PlotDevice drives the plot]], but it's ''not important / arbitrary'' what it does, it can be swapped with anything else. Not only it creates conflicts with many of its subtropes, it's not just "lots of people ignore", but possibly hardly anyone ever thinks that's what it's supposed to be.
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# {{Main.FightToSurvive}} -> Works such as these are examples of the Fight to Survive, a plot in which the main conflict is the simple struggle for survival. Many different things may cause the protagonist or protagonists to be placed in a perilous situation, but whatever the MacGuffin-disaster may be, the story will be centered around the protagonist's struggle to survive.
# {{YMMV.StarTrekOnline}} -> * SeasonalRot: ''Delta Rising'' and Season 10 were both generally agreed to be a drop in quality compared to earlier material. ''DR'' was bashed for grindiness and the overuse of level-gating and system patrols as {{Padding}}. Season 10 started decently with the well-regarded missions "Blood of the Ancients" and "Delta Flight", but later missions were replete with HollywoodTactics, PlotInducedStupidity, and counterproductive {{Glory Hound}}ing from the Klingons, and Cryptic's over-reliance on its blog to tell the story between featured episodes meant the Iconian War failed miserably to live up to expectations. This was capped off with a TimeTravel-related MacGuffin [[DeusExMachina Ex Machina]] ending that was controversial at best (see AlternativeCharacterInterpretation).
# {{Characters.MortadeloYFilemon}} -> * ImpossibleThief: Although this trope is used very often in the series, Mortadelo is the one who does it the most frequently, switching a valuable item, a MacGuffin or himself for something completely useless. However, this also has an unfortunate tendency to backfire when he accidentally does the switch in reverse or fails to do it altogether.
# {{Film.FrequentlyAskedQuestionsAboutTimeTravel}} -> * MacGuffin: Toby's paper.
# {{Characters.ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlimeTempestCitizens}} -> * GreaterScopeVillain: In ''Scarlet Bonds'', she was the one who [[spoiler:gave the [[MacGuffin cursed tiara]] to Queen Towa's first ancestor]], intending to use it as part of her LongGame to obtain a perfect incarnated vessel by [[spoiler:slowly acclimating generations of the queens to the cursed poison within the tiara and thus her own power]]. She also subtly influenced [[spoiler:the hardships of the nation of Raja, both external and internal]], in order to [[spoiler:provoke the queens into being willing to use the tiara's powers despite its risks]]. However, she also admits it was just as much [[spoiler:a genuine test of the descendants' noble spirits that motivated her "game", all of whom impressed her]]. She also [[spoiler:invented the prototype cursed poison magic circle]] that the film's antagonist would use to [[spoiler:inflict film's main disaster on Raja]], though she notes ''that'' was never meant to be [[spoiler:used on the human nation but instead a "prank" on Luminous, while her subordinate went on his own initiative.]]
# {{Film.IllBeHomeForChristmas}} -> * CoolCar: The {{MacGuffin}} that sets the entire chain of action in motion.
# {{Film.Swindle}} ->
# {{VideoGame.OracleOfTao}} -> * DismantledMacGuffin:
** In order to become the [[TitleDrop Oracle of Tao]], Ambrosia has to collect a series of scattered tattoos by realizing [[AnAesop some profound truth]] from various [[HermitGuru wise people]] (sort of a ShoutOut to [[Literature/TheLostYearsOfMerlin The Seven Songs of Merlin]]).
# {{WorldOfWarcraft.TropesSToZ}} -> ** During the Eredath questline, you help Archmage Y'mera awaken a robot gatekeeper to help you find the MacGuffin you seek. When Vigilant Quoram awakens, Y'mera's response is a subdued "Oh no... I know that voice" before Quoram begins talking down to "Y'mera the exile" and it becomes clear that it's an arrogant pain in the neck.
# {{Main.MoreThanMindControl}} -> ** Loki's reasons for allying with Thanos are open to interpretation, but [[https://www.marvel.com/characters/loki/on-screen according]] to Marvel's official site, "unbeknownst to him, the Scepter was also influencing him, fueling his hatred over his brother Thor and the inhabitants of Earth." So Thanos and the Other used the [[MacGuffin Mind Stone]] to amplify his evil tendencies, but the decisions were always his own.
# {{WesternAnimation.MyLittlePonyMakeYourMark}} -> * LivingMacGuffin: Opaline wants Sparky to repower herself by absorbing his dragon fire.
# {{AwesomenessByAnalysis.WesternAnimation}} -> * In the ''WesternAnimation/ActionMan2000'' computer animated series, Mann's brain runs a ridiculously complicated mathematical equation that sums up the world and calculates it in such a way that he can predict the future in ways beyond just physics. It turns into CursedWithAwesome when his ability turns him into the MacGuffin.
# {{Main.OhMyGods}} -> ** Likewise, "By the Matrix!" is used similarly. (The Matrix also changes definitions, meaning the Creation Matrix (the 'primordial program' that can give Transformers life, similar to the MacGuffin version of the Allspark), the Matrix of Leadership (mystical artifact that contains the wisdom of all past leaders and has [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands whatever power the plot needs]] up to and including defeating dark gods and reviving the dead), and just plain The Matrix (the Transformer afterlife, ''also'' better known as the Allspark in later versions.) Unicron is also used as the negative counterpart of Primus, in place of TheDevil.
# {{PhysicalGod.AnimeAndManga}} -> ** The goal of the BigBad Kars of ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'' is to use the [[MacGuffin Red Stone of Aja]] to turn himself into an Ultimate Being, an immortal entity with the powers of all of Earth's life at his disposal, including the Ripple which would otherwise be deadly to him as a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Pillar Man]]. [[spoiler:He succeeds, and just as he is about to deliver a killing blow to TheHero Joseph Joestar, Joseph blocks it with the same Red Stone of Aja which causes a chain reaction that results in the volcano they're fighting in to erupt, sending both soaring into the sky. Kars plans his escape, but Joseph's taunting distracts him enough that he's sent out of the Earth's atmosphere, and in the freezing depths of space turns to stone despite his efforts to return to the Earth. As the narration goes, "[[AndIMustScream Being unable to die even though he wished for it, Kars eventually stopped thinking]]."]]
# {{SpiritualAntithesis.VideoGames}} -> * ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' has always been this to the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' series, but it’s mostly seen in the spin-off game ''[[VideoGame/UnchartedTheLostLegacy Lost Legacy]]'' to ''[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom Temple of Doom]] ''. They’re both India set adventures based around an important MacGuffin from Hinduism [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythological_anecdotes_of_Ganesha#Ganesha_and_Parashurama the tusk of Ganesha]] and [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingam Lingam stone]], respectively. However, the game is much more respectful of the religion and Indian culture writ-large than the movie. The game’s protagonist, Chloe, is half-Indian herself whereas the film stars a MightyWhitey. Chloe also decides at the end that the tusk belongs to the people of India and sells it to the culture ministry to be put in a museum but Indy just gives the stone to the villagers.
# {{Film.Cradle2TheGrave}} -> * MacGuffin: The black diamonds that Fait steals at the start of the movie. He thinks they're just valuable jewelry, but are really volatile rocks akin to plutonium that are considered [=WMDs=]. Su is trying to get them before Yao Ling does.
# {{Characters.KimPossibleVillains}} -> * EvilAllAlong: In his first episode, he's just Lord Montgomery Fiske, and Kim even helps him recover the {{MacGuffin}}s he needs to get Mystical Monkey Power.
# {{WesternAnimation.ThePenguinsOfMadagascar}} -> * HostageForMacGuffin: Marlene in ''The Lost Treasure of the Golden Squirrel'' and Julien in ''Dr. Blowhole's Revenge''.
# {{Main.OvertRendezvous}} -> * In ''Literature/PayMeBug'', getting [[spoiler:Meaghan Sythe]] out of [[spoiler:Ur Voys]] requires a meeting in a bar. Unfortunately, she is seen there by other bar patrons, which allows Mavis' agents to connect her with the ''Fool's Errand''. Since they already suspect her of being part of the [[TheHeist theft]] of the [[MacGuffin artefact]], they naturally go after her, which sets up the [[StandardStarshipScuffle climactic battle]].
# {{Main.StrongerWithAge}} -> * ''Film/AnacondasTheHuntForTheBloodOrchid'' uses this to justify AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: the titular snakes are stated to keep growing for their entire life, thus ones that consume [[MacGuffin blood orchids]] -- flowers that can prevent aging -- can grow to be much bigger than normal (okay, technically these carnivorous snakes are consuming the animals that themselves eat the orchids).
# {{YMMV.SwordOfVermilion}} ->
# {{Main.WhiteMansBurden}} -> * ''[[Literature/WingsOfFire The Lost Continent]]'' is a FantasticRacism example. Newcomer Clearsight warns the islanders that there's a hurricane coming, and they nigh-instantly believe her and evacuate their whole village solely on her word. All of the dragons greeting her fall in love with her and invite her to live in their houses, because apparently none of them had lives before Clearsue came around. In the future, the continent reveres her as a ''goddess'', and the MacGuffin she wrote guides the (indigenous) heroes through their travails. [[note]]It should be noted that this is [[MessiahCreep far from]] the depiction of Clearsight in previous books.[[/note]]
# {{Anime.TheNightIsShortWalkOnGirl}} -> * MacGuffin: Three of them, each of which punctuates the film's main three acts/storylines. The Imitation Denki Bran, Otome's childhood copy of Ratatatam, and the miracle cold cure Junpero.
# {{Headscratchers.CaptainMarvel2019}} -> ** Also if she ''did'' know what the Tesseract really was, well Thanos isn't the only guy who would want to collect the stones, the FTL engine is a big enough Main/MacGuffin on it's own, throw in an ''Infinity Stone'' and that's a very large target for a project to protect endangered refugees.
# {{Main.TheMultiverse}} -> * ''Manga/Reborn2004'' has [[spoiler:Byakuran]] become a PhysicalGod of all parallel universes, using the [[MacGuffin three sets of rings and pacifiers]] in order to do so.
# {{VideoGame.HiryuNoKen}} -> * MacGuffin:
** ''Ogi no Sho'': The ''[[TitleDrop Ogi no Sho]]'' (Mysterious Book), who was stolen from Shou'an Roshi by the Dragon Tusks and [[DismantledMacGuffin divided into various scrolls]], and contains the teachings to perform the ''Hiryu no Ken'', the "Mind's Eye", and [[GameplayAndStorySegregation various power-ups in the first game]]. It's implied in further titles that it was created by Shou'an Roshi after Ryuten Taisei teached him the ''Hiryu no Ken''.
** ''Dragon no Tsubasa'': The [[DismantledMacGuffin broken]] Mandala Talisman, which used to seal Daimajin in the past.
** ''Gonin no Ryu Senshi'': The [[CoolSword Nichirin Ken]] (Sun blade), which is used to summon Ryuten Taisei. It's mentioned to be known under other names in the past, like {{Excalibur}}. Unlike earlier examples, it's acquired fairly early in the game -- the rest of the game is about PuttingTheBandBackTogether.
** ''Hiryu no Ken Gaiden'': The Hiryu medals, which can be combined to summon Dark Dragon.
** ''Golden Fighter'': The older games' ''Ogi no Sho'' and ''Nichirin Ken'', stolen from the Shaolin temple.
# {{Main.ArtifactOfHope}} -> * In ''VideoGame/{{Darkstone}}'', only one of the Pure of Heart can assemble the seven Crystals of Virtue in order to form the Time Orb, which is the MacGuffin needed to defeat the eponymous ArtifactOfDoom.
# {{Main.ImmunityDisability}} -> * ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': Exploited by [[BigBad Naraku]] during Sango's introductory arc. After manipulating Sango into believing that Inuyasha attacked her village and slaughtered everyone there for the [[MacGuffin Shikon Jewel shard]] Sango had found earlier (unsurprisingly, Naraku was the real culprit), he embeds another shard in her body that completely negates her ability to feel pain, intending that she'll fight Inuyasha to the death without ever realizing how badly she was hurt. Indeed, she doesn't even notice she's ''bleeding out'' until Inuyasha calls attention to her wounds.
# {{Podcast.RustyQuillGaming}} -> * MacGuffin: Alex explicitly refers to the ring Barret gave Hamid as such.
# {{Main.InterfaceSpoiler}} -> ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': Unlike in ''Ocarina of Time'', [[spoiler:whose Quest Status menu teased the possibility of getting the Triforce even though it wasn't possible, in this game you actually ''do'' get the Triforce this time. However, to prevent spoilers, its slot on the Quest Status screen doesn't show up until you find the first piece. And it actually ''replaces'' the slot for another MacGuffin that has long since served its purpose.]]
# {{Film.HighPressure}} -> * MacGuffin: Ginsburg's (or rather, his inventor's) process for making artificial rubber out of sewage. Gar is horrified when he finds out that it's a fraud.
# {{Main.NeverSayThatAgain}} -> ** While riffing ''Film/ThePumaman'', Crow responds to the on-screen question "But why does [[BigBad Cobras]] want [[MacGuffin the mask]]?" with "So he can be [[Film/TheMask SSSSSSSMOKIN']]!"; Mike very sternly tells him "Never...EVER...do that again."
# {{Film.LeprechaunReturns}} -> * MacGuffin: Lubdan's gold. All that appears in the movie is the pot itself with no more than 20% of the gold Lubdan once had.
# {{Recap.BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE22JokersFavor}} -> * MacGuffin: Joker's favor is only an excuse for Joker to KickTheDog.
# {{Literature.KillTimeOrDieTrying}} -> * MacGuffin: Seth's lost character sheet.
# {{Main.TheresNoPlaceLikeHome}} -> * In ''Film/{{Big}}'', Josh, who undergoes an OvernightAgeUp, has this has a twofold goal: first, find the [[MacGuffin magical fortune-telling machine]] that transformed him, then get back to his childhood home.
# {{Funny.BurnNotice}} -> * In "Trust Me" Michael steals some documents from the Pakistani consulate to act as a MacGuffin so he can get some information on Carla from the ISI, leaving a message in Urdu on the manila folder for the chief of security to meet him at the Carlito. When the chief arrives.
# {{WebAnimation.RedVsBlueFamilyShatters}} -> * AnswerCut: In West's dream in "Hard Boiled", Tiny comes to him for help -- some people are after her for something that's been stolen from her. When West asks what they want, Phase and Diesel burst in brandishing guns, the former commanding: "Fork over the MacGuffin, Tiny."
# {{Roleplay.SpecialPeople}} -> * PowerCrystal: Seems to be the go-to MacGuffin.
# {{Characters.CallOfDutyZombiesOtherCharacters}} ->
# {{Main.DysonSphere}} -> * The MacGuffin in ''Film/MenInBlackInternational'' turns out to be a star compressed into a handheld gun that's capable of destroying solar systems.
# {{Website.InsideTheBox}} -> The concept revolves around [[MacGuffin a box]] that comes up with games at random, that the gang plays. Also, a massive purple dildo.
# {{Anime.LupinIIIPrincessOfTheBreeze}} -> * ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: Ramu's stomachache. Because he swallowed the MacGuffin. [[{{Squick}} And later poops it out.]]]]
# {{Recap.SpongeBobSquarePantsS9E16PatrickTheGameTheSewersOfBikiniBottom}} -> * MacGuffin: The Krabby Patty secret formula.
# {{VideoGame.CityOfTitans}} -> * {{Motif}}: The Phoenix. Originally, the WorkingTitle was the ''The Phoenix Project'', and the idea is very prevalent in the lore itself. Starting from the Great Fire of 1908 that burned the city down, only for Titan City to rebuild better than ever, with the famous quote "like a phoenix, we will rise from these ashes." referring to how Titan City would overcome the face of destruction. Furthermore, the seat of the Titan City government is called the Phoenix Plaza, a very important part of the city. The first and greatest hero of the setting, American Star, drew power from a MacGuffin known as the Phoenix, a mystical entity in the ''[=CoT=]'' universe. The main reason the Phoenix is so important is because of the idea of a phoenix rising from the ashes, much in the way of the ''City of Heroes'' fandom following the shutdown of the game by [=NCSoft=].
# {{WMG.MissionImpossible1996}} -> [[MacGuffin The Rabbit's Foot]] is the Sinovirus from ''[[Creator/MatthewReilly Area 7]]''.
# {{Fanfic.FirstContactAGeminiStory}} -> %%* MacGuffin: The GPS.
# {{Main.MultipleChoicePast}} ->
# {{Main.PigLatin}} -> * ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'''s Quest for the Holy MacGuffin mostly uses CanisLatinicus, but there's some Pig Latin mixed in as well.
# {{Film.TheFaceOfFuManchu}} -> * MacGuffin: The Grand Lama's papers on the poisonous liquid of the Blackhill poppy Seeds. They were given to Professor Gaskel on the Younghusband Expedition (a Tibetan expedition) that Professor Muller was not allowed on. Afterwards, they were locked in a vault in a guarded room of the Museum of Oriental Studies. Professor Gaskel reveals the whereabouts of the papers to Fu Manchu out of jealousy at not being a part of the expedition.
** The Blackhill poppy seeds are another MacGuffin. They only grow in Tibet, which is where Fu Manchu escapes to after his underground lair is flooded.
# {{VideoGame.AGameWithAKitty2DarksideAdventures}} -> ** Despite being built up to be the level's boss, the mysterious man in a hovercraft in the Hidden Holy Hills stage isn't actually fought, unlike the JackassGenie in The Nothing, making obtaining the [[MacGuffin Holy Book of Beeble]] rather anticlimatic.
# {{VideoGame.UmbralCloud}} -> * MacGuffin: Orbs, tablets, and Sun Tower keys. Each Orb grants you a new power or ability when charged by defeating a key guardian. [[spoiler:The Gray Orb is optional; Gaius left it in the fountain near your home, but you'll need all 20 Naturia Feathers to claim it. It halves all damage you receive.]] Similarly, each tablet lets you fight an elemental spirit to gain a new spell, and [[spoiler:you'll need them all for the Golden Ending]].
# {{Series.Nikita}} -> * DirtyBomb: An episode from the first season has a MeleeATrois develop between Division, its Russian counterpart Gogol, and Nikita and her ally CIA analyst Ryan Fletcher, over a dirty bomb. [[spoiler:Nikita ultimately tricks Gogol into taking a FakinMacGuffin away from her, letting Fletcher hand over the bomb to the CIA.]]
# {{TearJerker.TheTwilightZone1985}} ->
# {{Sandbox.Btravern}} -> * TheSmurfettePrinciple: The Inspector changed into a female because his (er, her) metamorphosis was artificially induced, causing a shift in gene chromosomes. Later "corrected" during her farcical metamorphosis scene in "The Hills of Androgyny", widely derided as a low point in the series and finally retconned. The Inspector [[MushroomSamba gets loopy]] dragging the enormous pile of [[MacGuffin hallucinogenic moss]] into the Central Temple to head off the [[EarthShatteringKaboom Androgyny-Shattering Kaboom]]. This causes her to be gender-confused and think she will die unless she decides whether she's a man or a woman. She gets the genders switched around and thinks man is woman, and vice versa. She's then tricked into drinking the venom of a Spector Bat (by an "automated defense-dispensing system" no less) in a spectacular case of IdiotBall, immediately killing her. The venom does as it was expected to do however, inverting her gender. It apparently messes with her genes, causing a poorly-HandWaved mutation that metamorphoses the Inspector back into a male. As noted above, this was all a last-minute hash thrown together to salvage/finish the episode after numerous behind-the-scene disasters.
** As TakeThat at that scene, when the Fifth and Tenth Inspectors meet in the revived series by accident, Ten actually ''slaps'' Five for what she is going to do that will stupidly get herself killed. He unknowingly alters the future and because Five isn't actually going to die from hallucination-induced idiocy, she instead metamorphoses under more heroic terms, but the resulting time paradox [[GoneHorriblyWrong spawns the Indictor]]. Essentially, the entire last season of the Sixth Inspector's tenure and his death was thus retconned as being [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the Tenth Inspector]]'s fault.
# {{Theatre.IphigeniaInTauris}} -> * {{Main/MacGuffin}}: The image of Artemis (and the liberation which would follow) is the reason Orestes and Pylades are in Tauris.
# {{ComicBook.Daredevil}} ->
# {{Main.DyingTown}} -> *** The PlayerCharacter's tribal village of Arroyo has become one due to a terrible drought, which is what kickstarts their quest when they're sent out to find the [[MacGuffin Garden of Eden Creation Kit]].
# {{Film.MessageInACellPhone}} -> * MacGuffin: The cell phone and its message, which is hidden behind the pass-phrase [[spoiler:2446373 (CHINESE)]].
# {{Literature.TheBookWithNoName}} -> * MacGuffin - The Eye of the Moon. Jefe wants to find it for El Santino [[spoiler:and Somers]], who proposes the same deal to Sanchez and Elvis. Marcus and Dante don't know what it is but want to sell it, the monks want to take it back to their island, and the Bourbon Kid is interested in it as well.
# {{Main.Precursors}} -> Whatever the reason, they set the stage for the modern world, left behind a few {{MacGuffin}}s and surprises for the heroes and villains to find, and then conveniently [[NeglectfulPrecursors got out of the way]]. And then there are the times where they themselves are the reason everything's gone to hell, [[AbusivePrecursors and they intend to keep it that way]]. If the Precursors implemented a plan that, whether they still exist or not, still influences outcomes, then they are also PowersThatBe.
# {{InNameOnly.VideoGames}} -> * The original ''Unloved'' was a popular custom campaign (WAD) for ''VideoGame/DoomII'' which featured vast, intricately-designed and nightmarish levels and a grim horror atmosphere. The 2015 release ''VideoGame/{{Unloved}}'' is a [[ProceduralGeneration procedurally-generated]] RogueLike with drop-in/out CoopMultiplayer and no story which has you fighting an endless horde of BodyHorror monsters in a random selection of copy-pasted rooms while you try to find all the {{MacGuffin}}s, bearing little to nothing in common with the original WAD aside from the default level apparently being some kind of decrepit, bloodstained apartment complex. Even calling it a SpiritualSuccessor to the original is stretching credibility to breaking point.
** Another ''Doom II'' mod invokes this. Titled ''Doom II In Name Only'', its entire purpose is to recreate levels from the original ''Doom II'' with nothing more than the individual mapper's interpretation of the name as a guideline; e.g. "Dead Simple" decided to go for [[NonindicativeName an extremely large and complex map]] that is [[SubvertedTrope made almost entirely of a single geometric shape repeated over and over]].
# {{Literature.MikeHammer}} ->
# {{Literature.TheSecretAdversary}} -> * DamselInDistress / DistressedDude: Tommy is caught by the bad guys. Jane Finn is both this and a Living MacGuffin.
# {{Main.KlatchianCoffee}} -> * ComicBook/GastonLagaffe's homemade coffee is so strong, it causes whoever drinks it to lose coordination and make uncontrollable violent gestures. After drinking a cup of it, Gaston ends up wrecking his car. Not to mention that one sip of it makes De Mesmaeker [[RunningGag unable to sign]] [[MacGuffin the contracts]].
# {{Film.MenInBlackII}} -> * MacGuffinPersonReveal: Most of the movie is spent looking for the Light of Zartha, which turns out to be a HumanAlien (and J's LoveInterest).
# {{Main.BuryMeNotOnTheLonePrairie}} -> * This is a MacGuffin in the movie ''Film/StealingHome''. MrsRobinson figure Katie (played by Jodie Foster) commits suicide and leaves her ashes to Billy, played by Mark Harmon. Her vague instructions that "he will know what to do" with her remains set a VisionQuest in motion, as Billy reminisces about their relationship, his youth, and his lost potential as a ballplayer and a human being. He finally scatters her ashes off the [[HorseJump diving horse pier]] in Atlantic City, where Katie had often fantasized about flying to a faraway land.
# {{Main.HauntedHouse}} -> * One chapter of ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'' features Taichi, Zero and Gabou going to a haunted house to find one of the [[MacGuffin V-Tags]].
# {{MassEffect.TropesAToD}} -> ** One mission in ''Mass Effect'' is set on the moon of a planet whose surface was shattered by an ancient mass driver weapon—mainly for the purpose of providing a scenic backdrop as you drive around. However, in ''Mass Effect 2'' [[spoiler:the Illusive Man reveals that they discovered the target of that mass driver, and it turns out to be an important MacGuffin.]].
# {{Main.ICanRuleAlone}} -> Or, to sum up: Villain offers a chance to rule together, "hero" kills villain, takes MacGuffin and uses it to dominate the world himself.\\
A word of advice to villains: if you're dealing with the kind of people who are willing to betray their [[TrueCompanions true friends and comrades]] for a taste of power, [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder don't be surprised if they're willing to do the same]] [[GenreBlindness to you]]. This is typically a StartOfDarkness for the former hero, but it can also be [[MultipleEndings one of the possible endings]] in a game that allows the player to choose FactionSpecificEndings or simply [[OmnicidalNeutral make everyone the enemy]].
# {{Main.AlwaysAChildToParent}} -> ** In "Finding Mary [[MacGuffin McGuffin]]" the trope is played with. Doofenshmirtz finds a Little Mary [=McGuffin=] doll at a garage sale, and remembers how much little Vanessa wanted one and that she said if he got her one she'd be happy and he'd be the best dad in the world. He gives it to sixteen year old Vanessa, who is nonplussed at first, but when she thinks about it becomes very touched that he went to so much effort to find this thing for her to show her he loves her.
# {{VideoGame.Seedling}} -> * MacGuffin: The Oracle wants you to find a seed to replace his dying tree.
# {{Main.TwelfthNightAdventure}} -> Our protagonist is a stranger trapped in a strange land. They need to infiltrate the social fabrics for [[MacGuffin one reason or another.]] Often, this reason is survival. Problem is, their true gender, if noticed, wouldn't allow them to blend in. Maybe they would be stuck in a ghetto or cage or breeding farm. Maybe they would be expelled. Maybe they would be killed... This could be because of a LadyLand or NoWomansLand.
# {{Main.EmbarrassingButEmpoweringOutfit}} -> * There's a scene in ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' where Lina and Amelia put on silly dresses and sing a silly song (in a clear parody of {{Idol Singer}}s) in order to cast a powerful spell and kill a demon that was supposedly guarding a MacGuffin they're searching for. [[SubvertedTrope It produces some lights. The spell was actually for a festival, the Mac Guffin is elsewhere]]. Lina then killed the demon with her classic [[KamehameHadoken Dragon Slave]] as punishment for watching her embarrass herself.
# {{WesternAnimation.LadyLovelyLocks}} -> * MacGuffin: Lady Lovely Locks' hair, which is her power source. Duchess Ravenwaves' goal is to cut it and obtain power over the land.
# {{Film.AgentCarter}} -> * MacGuffin: The briefcase full of serum.
# {{Main.ManipulativeBastard}} -> * ''VisualNovel/ShallWeDateNinjaShadow'' has Tsubaki Kusunoki, a BadassBookworm with quite the way around words and lots of charisma, who wants to make gain strong allies for his ambitious plan to [[spoiler: overthrow the corrupt Tokugawa Shogunate]]. And to get this, he will do his best to either set the PlayerCharacter as his link to the Vigilantes [[spoiler: via [[HoneyTrap making her fall for him]] ]] or [[spoiler: try to bribe one of the Shogun's best warriors by using [[MacGuffin an item]] that he [[HealthcareMotivation desperately needs]]]], depending on the route.
# {{VideoGame.CaptainComic}} -> * MineralMacguffin: In the first game, one of the three {{MacGuffin}}s is gemstones. In the second game, all six of the {{MacGuffin}}s are gemstones.
# {{Main.NotMyDriver}} -> * ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': In the Uncle Scrooge story "Zio Paperone e lo slogan invincibile", John D. Rockerduck and Scrooge are in a race to Scotland to obtain the MacGuffin. Rockerduck sets out in his private plane. However, Scrooge has foreseen that and had the entire airport crew replaced with disguised members of his own family. Rockerduck only realizes this when he wakes up in Scotland, alone and locked inside his own plane, with Uncle Scrooge and his relatives running away and laughing their heads off.
# {{Main.TheHatMakesTheMan}} -> ** In the "Trelawney Thorpe: Spark of the Realm" short story, the MacGuffin is the crown of Myth/KingArthur, which is supposed to give the wearer the power of King Arthur. [[spoiler: What it actually does is give King Arthur the body of the wearer.]]
# {{KungFuPanda.TropesEToM}} -> * MacGuffin: The Dragon Scroll is rumored to bestow limitless power on the reader but is reserved for the Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung desires the scroll regardless of not being chosen, and when rejected he went on a rampage. The heroes decide to use the scroll's power in the final hour before Tai Lung arrives, [[spoiler:but it turns out to merely be reflective paper. [[MagicFeather Po realizes that it's metaphorical, and that it actually means that the true power of the Dragon Warrior is within.]]]]
# {{Literature.Pyrates}} -> * DismantledMacGuffin - The treasure map. The kids start with one piece, the bad guys have another, and there's more out there.
# {{Manhwa.TrinityWonder}} -> * MacGuffin: The machine that brought two of the protagonists, along with a third.
# {{VideoGame.DisneysMagicalMirrorStarringMickeyMouse}} -> * MacGuffin: The blue stars, which let you perform tricks, and the mirror shards that help Mickey get home.
# {{Film.LArgent}} -> * MacGuffin: A 500-franc note. Every subsequent receiver tries to give it to someone else instead of reporting to the police.
# {{Main.EarthAllAlong}} -> * ''Anime/GallForce: Eternal Story'' had a variation where the MacGuffin world being fought over was a {{terraform|ing}}ed version of Earth's moon. The story ends with the moon left lifeless and [[AdamAndEvePlot two of the cast stranded on a prehistoric Earth]].
# {{Main.SlipperyMacGuffin}} -> Contrast the LoyalPhlebotinum, which won't abandon you and will actively try to get back to you even if you should lose it anyway, and ClingyMacGuffin, which you ''can't'' get rid of no matter how much you might want to. Note that in some cases, whether a MacGuffin is Slippery or Clingy/Loyal depends on your perspective. A talisman that is trying to return to its true owner will be Clingy in regards to that owner, but Slippery to anyone else who tries to hold on to it.
# {{AlasPoorVillain.WesternAnimation}} -> * ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': Silco is a ruthless sonofabitch whose responsible for destroying the sisters Vi and Powder's adoptive family and flooding the streets of the Undercity with [[FantasticDrug Shimmer]]. His relationship with Powder turned Jinx, though surprisingly sweet at times, is also deeply unhealthy as he encourages her worst traits while jealously trying to keep Vi away from Jinx by lying that Vi's only there for the [[MacGuffin Hextech crystal]]. Yet he dies rather sympathetically. In an intense standoff with Vi over Jinx, Silco prepares to shoot Vi but in a moment of absolute panic, Jinx mortally wounds Silco. He spends his dying breath providing reassurance of his love to the daughter who just riddled him with bullets as the girl profusely mourns his death.
# {{VideoGame.Hitman3}} -> * OutOfGenreExperience: The level is set up like an Creator/AgathaChristie-esque "whodunnit" murder mystery, taking place in a single opulent mansion in the middle of the countryside. It's not strictly necessary, but the game encourages you to play detective (literally by disguising 47 as the actual PrivateDetective who was hired to solve the mystery), investigating the house and the people in it for clues as they unwind the mystery surrounding Zachary Carlisle's death. The path is so intricate that it can almost feel like you're playing an entirely different game, but doing so will still net you the path to your objective of killing Alexa, [[spoiler:including one scenario where the right revelation leads her to [[DrivenToSuicide off herself]] for you. As a further bonus, regardless of whom you accuse of Zachary's murder, you can ask Alexa for [[MacGuffin the Arthur Edwards file]] as a reward and she will gladly turn it over, netting you both objectives nearly simultaneously if you accuse the right person]].
# {{VideoGame.SuperMarioSunshine}} -> [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Everyone's favorite plucky plumber]], Princess Peach, five Toads ([[ColorCodedCharacters Red, Green, Yellow, Blue, and Purple]]) and Toadsworth go on a vacation. When they arrive at scenic Isle Delfino, they find that the place has been polluted and plastered with graffiti. Additionally, the [[MacGuffin Shine Sprites]] that power the island have disappeared. The culprit is a guy who looks suspiciously like Mario. Everyone's favorite plumber is promptly arrested as he arrives, falsely accused of vandalizing the island. He is [[KangarooCourt put on trial, found guilty,]] and is ordered to clean up the graffiti and recover the Shine Sprites; but fortunately, to help with the cleaning, Mario uses a water cannon/jetpack contraption called FLUDD. [[HilarityEnsues Wacky hijinks ensue]], Peach gets kidnapped yet ''again'', [[HijackedByGanon Bowser turns out to be behind it all]], and he now has [[OverlordJr a son]] to boot.
# {{Characters.TheProphecy}} -> A Korean War veteran who recently died, his soul becomes the sought-after MacGuffin for Gabriel to win the War in Heaven.
# {{Recap.MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWIssue61To62}} -> * EasilyForgiven: Twilight and Queen Novo seem to get along quite well, despite [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 the former trying to steal the latter's]] MacGuffin.
# {{Fridge.SailorMoon}} -> * Sailor Moon [=SuperS=] gets a lot of flak for a lot of reasons, the whole Dream Mirror thing getting the least of it. At first, they seem like another random MacGuffin of the week, but I came across an old Sailor Moon fan site called ''In Defense of [=SuperS=]'' (which has, unfortunately, died recently) which explains their purpose in greater detail. Dream mirrors allow people who expose them, in this case the Amazon Trio, to look into them. [[FridgeHorror All they really do is look inside them to see if Pegasus is in there, which is basically looking deep into their hearts, learning everything about them, including their deepest, darkest, most private secrets and desires. The maker of the site describes this as the spiritual equivalent of a strip search, and when they're corrupted and left to die, it's described as assault bordering on rape.]]
# {{Characters.SpectrumEquusPrime}} -> ** Galena warns Celestia and Luna not to tell Discord about [[MacGuffin the heart-shaped locket]], for fear he may perceive it as a threat to his freedom.
# {{VideoGame.DevilBeater}} -> ''Devil Beater'' is an {{Animesque}} BossGame hosted on the online game platform ''VideoGame/{{ROBLOX}}'' following the pursuits of a mafia family known as The Alliance (and its sub-groups: Team Dimensonia, Team Varia and the Interns) as they attempt to collect all seven [[MacGuffin "Artifacts"]] in order to [[KillTheGod kill the devil itself.]] Along the way The Alliance has to overcome legions of other enemies, including (but not limited to):
# {{Recap.ArrowS2E16SuicideSquad}} -> * DeadlyGas: The MacGuffin is a sarin nerve agent. "The Apocalypse in the form of a chemical weapon."
# {{Main.TwentyBearAsses}} -> A type of FetchQuest that involves going around killing enemies and collecting a certain amount of a specific item that these enemies [[RandomDrop randomly drop]]. They are most common in {{MMORPG}}s. The common hypothetical example involves a woodsman NPC asking the PlayerCharacter to deliver [[MacGuffin 20 sections of bear]] to him.
# {{Headscratchers.DevilMayCry}} -> * If we roll with Rebellion and Yamato being keepsakes Sparda left Dante and Vergil, then it's safe to say they have some fraction of daddy's power. Which means Rebellion is going to be a MacGuffin soon.
# {{Recap.SofiaTheFirstS1E14TheAmuletOfAvalor}} -> * {{MacGuffin}}: The Amulet itself.
# {{Roleplay.ReturnOfTheEmblem}} -> An RP started on Serenes Forest Forums. Based in various ways on the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series, the entire story focuses on a small set of [[MacGuffin items]] of the same name, called "Pieces of the Emblem" by the first antagonists to appear. What's so special about them is something the main characters will have to discover as they attempt to bring down their attackers and their entire organization.
# {{Recap.GothamS3E9TheExecutioner}} -> * MacGuffin: The emerald Ivy stole, which turns out to be a fake containing a key. One that some mysterious faction is after.
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According to SquarePegRoundTrope.LToP, MacGuffin is an object that [[PlotDevice drives the plot]], but it's ''not important / arbitrary'' what it does, it can be swapped with anything else. Not only it creates conflicts with many of its subtropes, it's not "lots of people ignore", but hardly anyone ever thinks that's what it's supposed to be.
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