Directed by: Seth MacFarlaneStarring: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Mila Kunis
Rating: 15
Plot: In 1985, eight-year-old John Bennett doesn't have any friends, so when his parents give him a Teddy Bear for Christmas, John makes a wish that his bear would come to life. A Christmas "miracle" occurs, and Ted does indeed come to life, and the new friends promise to stick together forever whilst Ted (MacFarlane) becomes a celebrity.
In 2012, John (Wahlberg) and Ted are still best friends, however Ted's celebrity-status has waned and John's girlfriend (Kunis) of four years is starting to tire of the pairs inability to detach from each other, and actually grow up!
Casting: It's a typical cast from the creators of Family Guy, with many of the regulars (Patrick Stewart, Patrick Warburton and Alex Borstein especially) taking leading roles or popping up somewhere or other. Wahlberg is ultimately the major addition to the cast and to be honest, he had about as much spark as he normally does in film (as in, not very much!).
Story: The story was unfortunately incredibly predictable, weak and seemed far too "easy". I expected much more originality from one of the Kings of Animated Comedy, but the story just lacked any kind of oomph. There were no twists or unexpected turns, and the jokes were obvious.
Overall: The film had so much potential, and as a fan of Family Guy especially, I expected a great deal more from this film, but it felt like it was severely lacking a certain "something" that Family Guy has. It lacked the spontaneity that Family Guy is renowned for, and the unpredictable silliness, instead replaced by the type of silliness that we've been seeing in gross-out films for years, only most of those other films did it better.
I can't deny that I was disappointed in this film, that I'd been anticipated for a while, but I just couldn't force myself to like it, no matter how hard I tried.
Rating: 2 out of 10
