Ted Information

Ted is a 2012 American comedy film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Seth MacFarlane, with Mark Wahlberg, MacFarlane, and Mila Kunis in leading roles. The supporting cast includes Joel McHale and Giovanni Ribisi.

The film is the feature-length directorial debut of MacFarlane, produced by Media Rights Capital and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was released on June 29, 2012, to critical and commercial success, becoming the 12th highest-grossing film of the year, the highest-grossing R-rated film of the year, and the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy of all time. The film also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, it was announced that there were plans for a sequel.

Plot

In Boston, Massachusetts in the year 1985, John Bennett is a lonely boy who can't make any friends, one Christmas he receives a teddy bear from his parents and immediately grows attached to it. John names him Ted, and wishes one night that Ted could be alive; inexplicably, a shooting star passing overhead causes his wish to come true and Ted is alive the next morning, much to the fear and eventual jubilation of his parents. Due to his sentience, Ted becomes a star for a short period of time.

27 years later, John works at a car rental place and has continued a strong bond with Ted, which his girlfriend Lori doesn't like as she thinks their friendship, which includes mass consumption of alcohol and drugs, is keeping John mentally a child. On their four year anniversary, John and Lori come home to find Ted with a quartet of hookers one of them having defecated on the floor during a game of Truth or Dare.

Lori gives John a chance to prove he can live without Ted, and John relents, helping Ted get an apartment and a job at a grocery store which his rather crude and rash behavior is praised and he is quickly promoted after having sex with a new cashier, Tami-Lynn while on shift. Their daily hangouts become frustrating to Lori as John uses excuses to cut out of his responsibilities and work early, she gives him a final chance.

Meanwhile, Ted is approached by a man named Donny and his overweight son Robert with an offer to buy him from John which they refuse. Lori and John attend a party hosted by her boss Rex, whose crush on her is frustrating to both of them. Ted calls and tells John that Sam Jones from Flash Gordon (their favorite childhood movie) is attending a party at his house. John resists at first not wanting to hurt Lori, but Ted quickly convinces him to come meet their childhood hero. Once there, John and Ted join Sam in several shots of alcohol and drugs, escalating into a fist fight with Ted's neighbor Ming, who Sam mistakes for his movie's villain Emperor Ming. John soon realizes the time but before he can leave, Lori comes in and tearfully breaks up with him, breaking John's heart. Realizing Ted's influence is to blame he tells Ted to stay away from him and goes to live at a hotel.

A week later, Rex, still pursuing Lori asks her out on a date and she accepts, hoping to get over John. Ted comes to John and after John provokes Ted into a fight that ends with a lamp and television falling on John, they reconcile, they decide to interrupt the Norah Jones concert that Lori is attending with Rex to sing a special song to her, but he is quickly booed off stage, Lori ends the date with Rex and returns home.

The next day, Ted comes to Lori and tells her that John is lost without her and offers to leave forever if it would help their happiness. Lori considers this and leaves to meet John, but Ted is shortly thereafter kidnapped by Donny and Robert. Taken to their home, Ted has one of his ears ripped off by Robert due to his foul mouth but tricks the boy into playing a game of hide and seek, using the distraction to staple his ear back on and call John who had reconciled with Lori. They go to Donny's house just as they are escaping with Ted and the two give chase that leads them to Fenway Park. Ted is injured during the chase but manages to outrun Donny as they climb up one of the spotlight towers. Donny grabs Ted by the foot and accidentally tears Ted in half, who falls to the stadium floor. Donny escapes when the police show up as John and Lori frantically try to piece Ted back together. He admits that the two of them need each other more than they need him, and the magic that gave him life leaves him an ordinary teddy bear again.

Lori and John rush home refusing to accept his death, but they are unable to patch him up and accept that he is gone. That night as John sleeps, Lori makes a wish, and the following morning, Ted is revealed to be alive but manages to fool John into thinking he was resurrected mentally retarded. John exclaims that Lori wished for Ted's life back and she corrects him saying that she wished for her life back instead, and John finally proposes to her, Ted becomes the best man at their wedding while the ordained Sam Jones presides over the service and Ted finally realizes their place together.

The narrator (Patrick Stewart) reveals what happens to the characters after John and Lori are married:

• Ted continues dating Tami-Lynn and gets promoted to store manager when his boss catches him eating potato salad off of Tami-Lynn's bare bottom.
• Sam Jones moves back to Hollywood with his goal to restart his film career and shares a studio apartment in Burbank, California with Brandon Routh. The narrator then goes on to complain about Brandon Routh in "that god-awful Superman movie".
• Rex gives up his pursuit of Lori, goes into a deep depression, and finally dies of Lou Gehrig's disease (referencing an earlier scene in which John tells Rex that he wishes this would happen).
• Donny gets arrested for kidnapping Ted, but the charges are dropped when everyone realizes the ridiculousness of the idea of being arrested for kidnapping a sentient plush toy.
• Robert gets a trainer, loses a lot of weight, and goes on to become Taylor Lautner.

Cast

• Mark Wahlberg as John Bennett, the film's main character. He works at a company that rents cars and, in his spare time, does drugs and drinks with Ted. When she threatens to leave him, John tries to prove to his girlfriend Lori that he can live without Ted.
  • Colton Shires as teenage John Bennett (opening credits).
  • Brett Manley as young John Bennett.
• Mila Kunis as Lori Collins, John's girlfriend. She works as an office worker and is stalked to no end by her boss Rex. She loves John, but feels he is spending more time with Ted than with her.
• Joel McHale as Rex, Lori's boss and stalker. The film's secondary villain.
• Giovanni Ribisi as Donny, the film's primary villain, who is a "fan" of Ted and kidnaps him for his spoiled brat son, Robert.
• Aedin Mincks as Robert, Donny's obese and bratty son, who serves as a third villain, and gets Ted to be his new "playmate".
• Patrick Warburton as Guy, John's second best friend and fellow co-worker.
• Matt Walsh as Thomas, John's boss, who is apparently on the brink of leaving his job, making John his replacement.
• Jessica Barth as Tami-Lynn, Ted's dumb blonde girlfriend and fellow co-worker. At first disliking Lori after mistaking her question as an insult but, at the wedding, becomes friends with her.
• Bill Smitrovich as Franklin "Frank" Stevens, Ted and Tami's middle-aged boss and supermarket manager. In a running gag, he hires and promotes Ted no matter what Ted does.
• Ralph Garman as Steven "Steve" Bennett, John's father.
• Laura Vandervoort as Tanya Terry, one of John's colleagues.
• Jessica Stroup as Tracy, one of Lori's colleagues.
• Ginger Gonzaga as Gina, one of Lori's colleagues.
• John Viener as Alex, one of John's co-workers.
• Melissa Ordway as Michelle, John's female co-worker.
• Robert Wu as Mr. Ming, Ted's next door, easily angered, and frustrated Chinese neighbor who confronts John and Sam Jones after his wall got smashed. Apparently, he has a pet duck named "James Franco".

Minor Roles

• Sam J. Jones, Ted and John's TV idol, and apparent ladies man, who seems to be very strong as he easily punches through Ted's wall.
• Mike Henry as Southern Newscaster who keeps saying, "Look what Jesus did!" after Ted came to life.
• Alex Borstein as Helen Bennett, John's mother.
• Danny Smith as Waiter who serves John and Lori at their dinner date.
• Ryan Reynolds as Jared, Guy's friend and later boyfriend.
• Norah Jones, a singer who appears giving John advice on getting Lori back.
• Tom Skerritt, Thomas' idol. He attends at the wedding, and warns Thomas that his daughter had better not be dead, implying that Thomas kidnapped his daughter so he would be forced to come.

Voices

• Seth MacFarlane as Ted , The film's titular character. Ted is John's teddy bear and best friend, who speaks with a strong Boston accent. He enjoys drinking, doing drugs and hanging with John.
  • Zane Cowans as Young Ted
  • Tara Strong as Ted's "I Love You" function
• Patrick Stewart as narrator

Production

Seth MacFarlane's directorial debut is a live-action effort, with computer animation handled by visual effects facilities Tippett Studio and Iloura. MacFarlane wrote the screenplay with his Family Guy colleagues Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. MacFarlane announced the film in the February 10, 2011, episode of Conan. Filming began in May 2011 in Boston, Norwood and Swampscott, all in Massachusetts.

The film's North American release was scheduled for July 13, 2012, but it was pushed to June 29, 2012, both to avoid competition with Ice Age: Continental Drift and following the delay of G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The film was released in Australia on July 5, 2012, and on August 1, 2012 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

In a making of video, it was revealed that MacFarlane originally wanted to make Ted into an animated TV show, much like his previous works Family Guy and American Dad.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was released by Universal Republic Records on June 26, 2012. It features the score by Walter Murphy and songs by various artists such as Norah Jones and Queen. Seth MacFarlane co-wrote the opening theme "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" with Murphy. The song was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 85th Academy Awards.

Track listing

All tracks by Walter Murphy except where indicated.

1. "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" by Norah Jones
2. "The Power of Wishes"
3. "Thunder Buddies for Life"
4. "John and Lori at Work" / "A Walk in the Park"
5. "Magical Wish"
6. "Rex's Party (Everybody Needs a Best Friend)"
7. "The Breakup"
8. "Never Be Scared of Thunder Again"
9. "Ted Is Captured" / "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
10. "The Car Chase" / "Fenway Pursuit"
11. "Climbing the Tower" / "She's Your Thunder Buddy Now"
12. "Saving Ted" / "Lori's Wish"
13. "The Proposal" / "The Wedding"
14. "End Titles"
15. "Flash's Theme" by Queen
16. "Sin" by Daphné
17. "Only Wanna Be with You" by Hootie & the Blowfish
18. "Come Away with Me" by Norah Jones
19. "All Time High" by Rita Coolidge
20. "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany
21. "Thunder Buddies" by Mark Wahlberg

Other songs not included in the soundtrack, but used in the film include select tracks from Queen's Flash Gordon soundtrack: "Football Fight", "Battle Theme" and "The Hero", as well as the "Knight Rider Theme" by Stu Phillips, "Stayin' Alive" by "Bee Gees", "Kiss Kiss" by "Chris Brown" and "The Imperial March" by John Williams. The film trailers used the songs "Best Friend" by Harry Nilsson and "How You Like Me Now?" by The Heavy.

Marketing

To promote the film, Universal Pictures teamed up with Axe in a marketing campaign that involved the titular character and the brand's hair care product Axe Hair. In one commercial, Ted takes a woman on a date to a fancy restaurant, where he brings her to orgasm under the table before handing another man a box of Axe Hair gel.

In February 2013 star Mark Wahlberg and the titular character made an appearance at the 85th Academy Awards, which Seth MacFarlane hosted.

Release

Critical reception

Ted has received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising Seth MacFarlane's comic performance, as well as Mark Wahlberg's portrayal of John Bennett. The film currently has a 69% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 194 reviews, with an average score of 6.4/10, and the site's consensus saying: "Ted 'romance versus bromance' plot is familiar, but the film's held aloft by the high-concept central premise and a very funny (albeit inconsistent) script." At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 62, based on 37 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, citing the film as "the best comedy screenplay so far [this year]," also praising the film on the fact that it "doesn't run out of steam."

Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club gave the film a "B" grade. Brent McNight of Beyond Hollywood commented on the jokes: "Some of these jokes hit, some jokes miss." On the other hand, A. O. Scott of The New York Times called Ted "boring, lazy and wildly unoriginal."

Box office

Ted earned $547,382,304 of which $218,815,487 came from the United States and Canada and $328,566,817 from foreign territories, making it Universal's highest grossing film in 2012, ahead of Snow White and the Huntsman and Battleship, the only one to pass the $400 million mark, and the 12th highest-grossing film of 2012.

Asia

Ted debuted in first place in Taiwan and got best comedy opening ever there. It also debuted in Hong Kong, with $1.4 million, and grossed $571,000 in its first week in South Korea, eventually grossing $8 million, $3.8 million and $1.8 million in the three countries respectively. It also grossed $2.1 million in both Indonesia and Singapore, and $1.4 million in Thailand.

In January 2013, Ted opened at No. 1 in Japan, its final market, with $4.5 million, the best start ever for an R-rated comedy there. In comparison, it grossed more in its opening weekend than The Hangover Part II made in its entire run. The following weekend, it retained the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive frame, grossing $3.6 million at 137 dates, for a 10-day market cumulative total of $11.2 million. By its third weekend, the film stayed at the No. 1 spot for a third week, with earning down less than 10%, pushing Ted's overseas total past the $300 Million mark, and making it the top grossing R-rated comedy of all time in Japan. It then had its fourth consecutive weekend at No. 1, drawing another $3 million at 354 locations in the country. Its cumulative total stands at $43 million grossed so far.

Europe

Ted debuted with $14.3 million in the United Kingdom, making it the third-best debut ever for a Universal film behind Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and King Kong, eventually grossing over $48.9 million in the country. Ted was released in cinemas across the UK on August 3

The film had a $7.4 million launch in Germany, holding #1 spot for three-straight weeks, eventually grossing over $31.4 million.

In Spain, it opened with $2.3 million, which is the highest ever for an original R-rated comedy there, eventually grossing over $14.3 million.

The film also had the best Hollywood comedy debut ever in Russia, grossing $5.5 million, eventually grossing $17 million.

Ted spent its first four weeks atop the weekend box office in both the Netherlands, and Austria, eventually grossing $8.4 million, and $6.2 million in those countries respectively. The movie also opened at No. 1 in Belgium, with $587,000, eventually grossing $4.4 million.

In Italy, Ted had a second place start, grossing $3.3 million in its opening weekend there, moving up to No. 1 on its second week, with $4.2 million grossed. It has since grossed $14.1 million there.

In France, Ted debuted at No. 2, grossing $3 million in 348 theatres during its opening weekend, eventually grossing $11.5 million in the country.

North America

Ted earned $2.6 million in midnight showings in the United States and Canada. For its opening day, Ted scored one of the best R-rated comedy debuts ever since The Hangover with an estimated $20.2 million. The film earned a total of $54.4 million in its opening weekend, well over second-place R-rated Magic Mikes $39.2 million. Its overall weekend gross set a record for the highest original R-rated comedy opening in history. It was the first time two R-rated films grossed more than $21 million each during a weekend.

In Mexico, the film debuted in first place with $2.1 million, grossing $13.4 million.

Oceania

It also debuted at #1 in Australia and New Zealand, grossing over $35.5 million and $3.5 million respectively. Its $13.1 million opening in Australia, of which $4.5 million were from previews, was Universal's biggest opening ever in the country.

South America

In Brazil, it opened with $1.4 million at 273 sites, moving up to 1st place in the country on its third week of release. It has since grossed $8.8 million there.

Ted also grossed $4.6 million in Argentina, 2 million in Chile, 1.9 million in Peru, and 1.7 million in Colombia.

Home media

Ted was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on December 11, 2012 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Both formats were released in Australia on November 21, 2012, in an "Extended Edition". It was released on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK on November 26, 2012.

Accolades

Award (Ceremony)	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result	Ref.
Teen Choice Awards (2012)	Choice Summer Movie: Comedy or Music	Ted
	Choice Movie Voice	Seth MacFarlane as Ted
	Choice Movie Chemistry	Seth MacFarlane and Mark Wahlberg
Academy Awards (85th)	Best Original Song	"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" - Seth MacFarlane and Walter Murphy
People's Choice Awards (39th)	Favorite Comedy Movie	Ted
MTV Movie Awards (2013)	Movie of the Year	Ted
	Best Female Performance	Mila Kunis
	Best Shirtless Performance	Seth MacFarlane
	Best Kiss	Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg
	Best Fight	Seth MacFarlane and Mark Wahlberg
	Best On-Screen Duo	Seth MacFarlane and Mark Wahlberg
	Best WTF Moment	Seth MacFarlane
Saturn Awards (39th)	Best Fantasy Film	Ted

Sequel

During the 2012 American Dad! Comic-Con panel, Seth MacFarlane stated that he would be open to a sequel to Ted. In September 2012, chief executive Steve Burke said that the studio would be looking to make a sequel to Ted "as soon as possible".

On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, MacFarlane revealed that there were plans for a sequel.

On Anderson Live, Mark Wahlberg confirmed that a sequel was in the works and that it would be the first sequel in his career, while also revealing that he and Ted (as voiced by MacFarlane) would appear at the 85th Academy Awards.