Plot: What’s it about?
It’s highly unlikely that, as a fan of Family Guy and The Simpson’s, I’ll ever find another set of animated series that I love as much. While The Simpson’s came first and obviously inspired Seth MacFarlane’s foul-mouthed “family”, it’s going on its third decade. But both shows remain fresh and funny as ever. Up until a few years ago, I really hadn’t seen much of Family Guy, but with reruns being so prevalent, it’s kind of hard to turn the channel without running into an episode. And so, it began…If you’re familiar with one show, you’re familiar with the other though MacFarlane’s “family” is a bit harder to love (or easier, depending on who you are). The show literally came back from the dead in 2001 and has since made MacFarlane a multi-millionaire. With Ted, MacFarlane has now shown he has what it takes to dominate the box office as well, with the movie raking in over $200 million in the United States alone. And if you’re sick of MacFarlane, he’s the host of the 2013 Academy Awards, so sit back and enjoy him.
John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) wasnt’ a very popular kid. But his parents got him a very special present, a teddy bear that, on a magical night, came to life. Time has passed and John and Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) have remained best friends. John doesn’t have a lot going for him except his girlfriend, Lori (Mila Kunis) who is looking to take their relationship to the next level. However John seems perfectly content in a dead end job, smoking pot with Ted. But, Lori has other ideas and after making John choose between Ted and her, Ted’s forced to move out on his own. There is, of course, the “down time” when John and Lori are separated which gives her sleazy boss, Rex (Joel McHale) an opportunity to woo her, but was it really meant to be?
Ted is a very simple movie and it’s supposed to be. There’s really no antagonist, rather it’s exactly like I thought it would be – like a live-action version of Family Guy. I’m sure middle-America has a problem with a teddy bear that makes obscene gestures, drinks too much, smokes pot and dates prostitutes, but to me that’s something else entirely – namely it’s funny! If there was ever any doubt that Seth MacFarlane is going to take over the world of entertainment, I think Ted is one of the catalysts for that to happen. MacFarlane is literally everywhere these days with appearances on Saturday Night Live to his upcoming host gig of the Oscars. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that MacFarlane and his creations have made an impact on the pop culture market of the world.
Video: How does it look?
I think it goes without saying that we all want our movies to look (and sound) as best they can. Is Ted an improvement over Universal’s 2012 Blu-ray? Absolutely. Is it the epitome of anything and everything that embodies 4K? No. Not really. Do we or should we care? Most likely not. The film has a very colorful palette associated with it and while the improvement in detail was immediately noticeable to me, colors did seem to be a bit on the baked side (no pun intended, of course). We know that Shout! Factory can (and has) produced some out-of-the-park transfers on their titles and while this is an improvement, I wasn’t blown away. But the fan in me really didn’t mind.
Audio: How does it sound?
The DTS HD Master Audio mix isn’t anything to balk at, either and it appears as if its the same one used on the original Blu-ray. The majority of the film is dialogue driven, though we do get a few notes from Queen’s “Flash Gordon” and we see way too much of actor Sam Jones who played the title character. The movie is a pretty front-heavy mix with LFE coming in at a few times and the surrounds adding a good bit of ambiance. Here’s a trick…if you’re a fan of Family Guy, close your eyes and you’ll immediately picture Peter Griffin in the film. It’s even quoted in a line of dialogue as well. A great effort here.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This two-disc set gives us a few extras not included on Universal’s Blu-ray.
Disc One (4K) – Extended Cut
- Audio Commentary – Director/Producer/Actor (and so forth) Seth MacFarlane, actor Mark Wahlberg and co-writer Alec Sulkin collaborate on this track. It’s hilarious in that’s both informative and self-deprecating as the three rib on one another all the way through. Unfortunately Wahlberg has to leave early (seriously, it’s like a 90 minute movie) but this is a very enjoyable track.
Disc Two (Blu-ray)
- Audio Commentary – Director/Producer/Actor (and so forth) Seth MacFarlane, actor Mark Wahlberg and co-writer Alec Sulkin collaborate on this track. It’s hilarious in that’s both informative and self-deprecating as the three rib on one another all the way through. Unfortunately Wahlberg has to leave early (seriously, it’s like a 90 minute movie) but this is a very enjoyable track.
- The Making Of Ted – This contains three shorter featurettes: “A Guy, A Girl and a Teddy Bear”, “Doing it Live” and “A MacFarlane Set” are all discussed. We get insight from the cast and crew (most of which are Family Guy regulars), the concept behind the film, what it took to animate the bear and so forth.
- Nothing Is As Powerful As A Young Man’s Wish: Creating Ted – Interview With Co-Writers Alec Sulkin And Wellesley Wild – If you’re a fan of Family Guy, and I assume any fan of this movie is, we get the genesis of the project, how they wanted to approach the teddy bear and so forth. It’s nice to have a new feature added.
- Thunder Buddies For Life: Producing Ted – Interview With Producer Jason Clark – Another new feature has been added, this one with the film’s producer Jason Clark who rehashes some of what we learned above. Like the other one, though, it’s nice to have something new.
- Deleted Scenes – We get fifteen deleted scenes that run nearly as many minutes.
- Alternate Takes – Essentially the same as above, just some other riffs on some selected scenes.
- Gag Reel – I have to imagine that when shooting this film, we’d have had much more than these but if gag reels are your thing – there ya go.
- “Teddy Bear Scuffle” – If you’ve ever wanted to see how one person fought a CGI teddy bear in a hotel room, your wait is over.
- “Donny & Robert” – Giovanni Ribisi and Aedin Mincks who played father and son respectively, give us their .02 on their roles and the project.
- “Celebrity Scene Stealers” – Again, just that. We get a look at some of the cameos in the film.
- “Sleazy Boss” – A look at the character as portrayed by Joel McHale in the movie.
- “OMG! It’s Sam Jones” – Yeah man. The legend himself! Truthfully I never really saw the appeal, but it was nice to have this included.
- “Ted’s Girl” – This features Jessica Barth who, evidently, was dating Seth MacFarlane at the time hence her role in the film. Heard of her since? Yeah, they broke up.
- “Best Of Buds” – Ever wondered how they made a CGI teddy bear smoke weed? You will now.
- “Beantown Bearings” – If you’ve never been to Boston…congratulations. Just kidding. We get a crash course in the city and some of the spots used in the film.
The Bottom Line
Ted and its sequel have their audiences. I actually prefer the sequel, but this one had me rolling. As a fan of Family Guy, this is essentially a live-action version of an episode. And I’m fine with that. Shout’s new 4K looks better than its predecessor and the addition of some new features is always welcome. True fans will want to pick this one up while others might just stick with what they already have.
