Madoka Magica (film)

Madoka Magica (released in Japan as Puella Magi Madoka Magica: New Movie) is a 2019 American-Japanese fantasy drama film written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Quvenzhane Wallis, Alisha Newton, Ryan Simpkins, Mackenzie Foy and Hailee Steinfeld. Based on the anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the film follows the lives of five yonug girls who fight by night as "magical girls", defenders of humanity against the evils of Witches, creatures who cause disasters and despair.

After the film rights lingering in development hell for several years, Legendary Pictures and Del Toro announced they had picked up the rights at San Diego Comic-Con 2016 and that production would begin by mid-2017. Principal photography occured from August 2017 until February 2018. The film was released on July 26, 2019 in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D and received a very positive reception from both critics and fans, praising the accuracy to the source material, the visual effects and the performances of the cast. The film grossed $206 million domestically and $494 million worldwide, becoming Del Toro's highest grossing film both domestically and worldwide.

The film won 2 Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects, and was nominated for Best Production Design and Best Original Score for Clint Mansell.

Plot
Madoka Kaname (Quvenzhane Wallis) is a middle school student who lives in Mitakihara, Japan with her best friends Sayaka Miki (Ryan Simpkins) and Hitomi Shizuki (Tatum McCann). One day in class, a new transfer student, named Homura Akemi (Alisha Newton), arrives in class and is exceptionally gifted in nearly everything. Madoka and Homura build up a rapport, where Homura confronts her about staying the way she is. Later in the day, Madoka hears a cry for help. Upon investigating, she finds Kyubey (voiced by Cassandra Lee) being tormented by Homura. Sayaka helps Madoka and Kyubey escape until the get trapped in a maze like place. Saved by Mami Tomoe (Hailee Steinfeld), she explains that it was a witch, a creature who causes despair wherever they go. Kyubey says that she is a magical girl, and that she would like to start a contract with Sayaka and Madoka to turn them into magical girls. He takes a specific interest in Madoka, who has "infinite potential".

Madoka and Sayaka become Mami's apprentices, and they learn how to hunt Witches. Mami explains that witches have Grief Seeds, which help "cleanse" a magical girls' Soul Gem. After visiting Kyosuke (Mason Cook) at the hospital, Sayaka discovers a witch about to hatch and contact Mami and Madoka. Homura comes along as well, but Mami traps her due to mistrust. The fight doesn't go as planned however and the witch kills Mami, forcing Homura to save both Sayaka and Madoka. Scared about what will happen to them, both Madoka and Sayaka vow to never become magical girls, but seeing Kyosuke's state, Sayaka relents and makes a contract with Kyubey. She ends up saving Hitomi and Madoka from a witch and becomes a magical girl full time. This puts into conflict with Kyoko Sakura (Makenzie Foy), a rival magical girl who is more about the prize then the heroism.

Sayaka becomes obsessed with hunting witches and outdoing Kyoko, which catches the attention of Homura who tries to destabilize the situation. On the night of their battle, Madoka interferes by throwing Sayaka's Soul Gem onto the highway, which cause Sayaka's body to lose it's life. Kyubey reveals that the girls' bodies are no longer their actual bodies, but the Soul Gems. Sayaka, upon this realization, refuses to interact with Kyosuke anymore, afraid on how he will react, and Hitomi and Kyosuke end up together. Falling into despair, she becomes more and more violent, culminating in her killing two sexist men on a train. Kyoko attempts to help Sayaka to no avail, and she falls into despair and turns into a witch.

Realizing that all magical girls are destined to be witches, Madoka, Homura and Kyoko attempt to bring Sayaka out to no avail. Kyoko sacrifices herself to kill Sayaka's witch, leaving Homura and Madoka alone. Kyubey deduces that Madoka's potential comes from Homura's ability, which is time travel. Homura was initially a shy girl who became Madoka's best friend after she saved her from a witch. However, her death against a massive witch known as Walpurgis Natch made Homura form a contract with Kyubey so she can save Madoka's life. Her constant trips through time made Madoka's destiny to become far greater initially intended.

Intended to stop Madoka from becoming a magical girl, Homura heads out to fight Walpurgis alone, however Madoka follows her and forms a contract with Kyubey on the condition that no magical girl ever become a witch again. This causes her to ascend to a higher plane of existence - one that makes her unknown to everyone except Homura. The Law of Cycles is born, and the universe is rewritten. In the rewritten universe, Kyoko and Mami are still alive and Sayaka is no longer a witch, instead having ascended to the same realm as Madoka. Homura now fights on against a new enemy, wraiths, and promises to keep Madoka's sacrifice known and alive.

Cast
Quvenzhane Wallis as Madoka Kaname, a kind and sweet girl who gets wrapped up in events around her. Del Toro cast Wallis due to her performances in Beasts of the Southern Wild and Annie, stating she had the type of energy and innocence required for the role. Wallis spoke about Madoka, saying "I love her dedicated she is, and how much she cares about her friends. I think most people will be able to relate to her."

Alisha Newton as Homura Akemi, the mysterious transfer student and magical girl. Newton, a relative newcomer, was cast based on her lookalike with the character. Newton said about Homura, "She's a pretty conflicted and complex character... she is always looking for the peaceful solution when everyone around her is fighting and it makes her quite jaded and dark."

Ryan Simpkins as Sayaka Miki, the tomboyish best friend of Madoka and eventual magical girl. Del Toro discussed about her character as "a tragic figure. Her story is the crux of the film, and it's also where most of the revelations take place." Ryan Simpkins spoke about Sayaka, saying "she's kinda naive in a way, almost like she wants to be the hero of the story, when in reality she is just the supporting character. It's almost poetic in a way."

Makenzie Foy as Kyoko Sakura, the aggressive and hot-tempered rival to Sayaka and magical girl. Makenzie Foy lobbied for the role of Kyoko, being a fan of the series. She said "Kyoko is my favourite character - she's sassy and doesn't take anything from anybody... but she also has a softer side, and that's what make her so compelling and interesting to play."

Hailee Steinfeld as Mami Tomoe, Madoka and Sayaka's mentor and magical girl. Similar to Foy, Hailee fought for a role in the film, however was initially interested in Homura. Due to her older age, she was cast as Mami. She said "Mami is the classic mentor character: kind, loving but also brave and badass... but she also has her breaking point, and we see that here and it's pretty dark."

Cassandra Lee as the voice of Kyubey, the creature who creates magical girls. Cassandra Lee originally voiced Kyubey in the English dub of the original anime, and was requested by SHAFT to reprise her role in the film. Emiri Kato, the Japanese voice of Kyubey, reprised her role in the film as well in the Japanese dub.

Tatum McCann as Hitomi Shizuki

Mason Cook as Kyosuke Kamijo

Development
The rights to a live action Madoka Magica movie had been in talks since the anime's inception. Atushiro Iwakami said "We've seen franchise potential for Madoka, and a live action movie seems to be the way to go". However, a lack of interest in the project as well the expected dark tone turned many studios off. Legendary Pictures, in need of a hit after Crimson Peak 's weak performance at the box office, turned Studio SHAFT in hopes of acquiring the rights to Madoka Magica. A deal was made and at San Diego Comic-Con 2016, Legendary Pictures announced the film along with Del Toro who was confirmed to be directing and writing the film.