Ted (film)

Ted (film) Directed By: Seth MacFarlane Produced By: *Scott Stuber Seth MacFarlane John Jacobs Jason Clark Story writer: Seth MacFarlane Starring: *Mark Wahlberg Mila Kunis Seth MacFarlane Joel McHale Giovanni Ribisi Screenplay writer: *Seth MacFarlane Alec Sulkin Wellesley Wild Cinematography: Michael Barrett Editor: Jeff Freeman Music composer: Walter Murphy Production studio: *Media Rights Capital Fuzzy Door Productions Bluegrass Films Distributed By: Universal Pictures Runtime: 106 minutes Country: United States Language: English Budget: $549.4 million

Ted (stylized in all lowercase) is a 2012 American fantasy comedy film co-produced and directed by Seth MacFarlane and written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild based on a story written by MacFarlane. The first installment in the Ted franchise, the film stars Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, with Joel McHale and Giovanni Ribisi in supporting roles, and MacFarlane providing the voice and motion capture of the title character. The film tells the story of John Bennett, a Boston native whose childhood wish brings his teddy bear friend Ted Wiggins to life. However, in adulthood, Ted and John's friendship begins to interfere with the progression of John's relationship with his girlfriend, Lori Collins.

MacFarlane's feature-length directorial debut, the film was produced by Media Rights Capital and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was released in theaters in the United States on June 29, 2012, and was a box office hit, grossing $549.4 million against a $50–65 million budget. Ted was the highest-grossing comedy film of the year and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It received generally positive reviews and successfully launched a franchise, with a sequel released in 2015 and a prequel television series in 2024.

Plot

In 1985, 8-year-old John Bennett is a friendless only child living in Norwood, Massachusetts. On Christmas Day, he wishes for his new gift, a jumbo teddy bear named Ted Wiggins, to come to life and become his friend. The wish coincides with a shooting star and comes true; word spreads, and Ted briefly becomes a celebrity.

Cast

• Mark Wahlberg as John Bennett, Ted Wiggins's best friend who, as a child, wished he would come to life. An immature but mild-mannered slacker who loves to smoke pot with his best friend.
  • Colton Shires as teenage John Bennett
  • Bretton Manley as young John Bennett
• Seth MacFarlane as Ted Wiggins (voice and motion capture), John's teddy bear and best friend. John wished him to life when he was a kid, and the two have remained friends ever since. Ted grows up to be a crude, foul-mouthed, alcoholic teddy bear, but he is also a lovable cheeky-chappy and is highly protective of John, MacFarlane replaces Zac Efron in this film.
  • Zane Cowans as young Ted
  • Tara Strong (uncredited) as Ted's "I Love You" function
• Mila Kunis as Lori Collins
• Joel McHale as Rex
• Giovanni Ribisi as Donny, Ted's biggest fan and stalker
• Aedin Mincks as Robert, Donny's brutish son
• Patrick Warburton as Guy, John's co-worker
• Laura Vandervoort as Tanya, John's co-worker
• Matt Walsh as Thomas Murphy, John's boss
• Jessica Barth as Tami-Lynn McCaffert
• Bill Smitrovich as Frank Stevens
• Alex Borstein as Helen Bennett,
• Ralph Garman as Steve Bennett
• Jessica Stroup as Tracy, Lori's co-worker
• Sam J. Jones as himself
• Ryan Reynolds (uncredited) as Jared
• Norah Jones as herself
• Tom Skerritt as himself
• Mike Henry as a Southern newscaster
• Robert Wu as Quan Ming / Ming the Merciless
• Ted Danson (uncredited) as himself
• Patrick Stewart as the Narrator
• Shawn Thornton as the enraged audience member