Beyond the Trailer: Will 'Ted 2' Live Up to the Original?

Joey Sack ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

After the success of his 2012 comedy Ted, and the mixed reception of his 2014 film A Million Ways to Die in the West, Seth MacFarlane is set to return to the silver screen as the foul-mouthed teddy bear in Ted 2. The trailer was released a few days ago, so let’s dive right in.
At the beginning of the trailer, Ted marries his girlfriend from the last movie, Tami-Lynn, as Patrick Stewart narrates that although “happy ever after” only exists in fairy tales, the fact that a teddy bear is about to marry his girlfriend proves that “Americans really don’t give a crap about anything.” Ted tells John (Mark Wahlberg) that he and Tami-Lynn are planning on having a baby, and he would like his best friend to be the sperm donor (because Ted is a stuffed animal without any sort of means to impregnate a woman).
The main conflict of this movie is introduced when Tami-Lynn discovers that in order for their marriage to be legitimate and to have custody of their child, Ted must be seen, in the eyes of the law, as a human being (a bit of a problem for a plush toy). With encouragement from John, Ted decides to sue the Massachusetts government for his rights. This puts him in contact with a lawyer, played by Amanda Seyfried, who will help Ted prove that he should be considered human in the eyes of the courts. A few funny scenes, including Ted singing when asked if he has a soul and messing with a cranky fat blind man in a diner, are the highlights of this trailer.

From the trailer, it’s plain to see that this movie is going to be the same kind of ridiculous and, dare we say, stupid humor that we’ve come to expect from Seth MacFarlane’s other projects, from Family Guy to the original Ted movie. But if you’re a fan of Seth MacFarlane, including the good, the bad, and the Million Ways to Die in the West, this looks like a really funny movie that asks the question: what is human, and can a foul-mouthed teddy bear be considered human in the eyes of the law? We also get to see Morgan Freeman remind Ted that, in order to be considered human, in the eyes of the courts and in general, he has to contribute something of value to society, and who knows what Ted will do to fight for his rights; will he turn over a new leaf and be a good person for the good of his wife and the baby they want to have? Then again, knowing Seth MacFarlane, he’s going to find some sort of comedic way to look at these thought-provoking questions that’ll probably offend the hell out of everybody.
The effects for Ted himself actually look pretty good, perhaps even a bit improved from the last movie, and the acting looks like it’s going to be pretty solid, and hopefully pretty funny. Given that Mila Kunis, who played John’s girlfriend Lori in the last movie, was pregnant when filming for Ted 2 was going on, she’s not featured at all in this trailer, with the main actress in this movie being Amanda Seyfried. It doesn’t look like Kunis will have any sort of role in this movie, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Mark Wahlberg still seems like he’s going to be really funny, and Amanda Seyfried is actually pretty entertaining, though she mostly plays the role of the straight man (or, in this case, woman) in the group. We’ll see how this two-person/one-teddy bear team turns out, but it looks pretty promising.
Ted 2 premieres June 26th. Do you think Ted can become a good person for the good of his loved ones? Will he muck it all up? Or will he find some sort of happy medium that allows him to continue his existence as the foul-mouthed teddy bear we all know and love? Only time will tell.

Watch The Trailer