A live-action comedy from Seth MacFarlane about a grown man and the relationship he shares with his best friend, a teddy bear that came to life as the result of a childhood wish and who spends most of his days cussing, getting high, and getting laid. Sounds like an awesome April Fools’ Day prank, but the truth of the matter is, it is anything but.

Two weeks after the premiere of its first poster, Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for Ted, which marks Family Guy/American Dad creator MacFarlane’s big-screen directorial debut.

You can watch the restricted trailer here below.

The film stars Mark Wahlberg as a guy who falls in love with the lovely Mila Kunis (and what undiscriminating heterosexual male wouldn’t?), but their burgeoning romance is held back by the constant presence of Ted, the aforementioned foul-mouthed stoner teddy bear brought to life through the magic of CGI and motion capture. This is what the technology that made Andy Serkis a household name and perfected the merger of live performance and digital effects has finally wrought.

MacFarlane not only directed the movie and co-wrote the script with his Family Guy cohorts Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, but also provided the voice for Ted and performed the motion capture for the character. Truly an artist who gives 110% in the name of his craft. He even gave Ted a slightly Peter Griffin-ish accent. Wahlberg, not exactly known for having decent chemistry with his leading ladies, at least seems to have a good rapport with Ted; their scenes together are the best in the trailer.

When this project was first announced I wondered if the character of Ted would be someone only visible to Wahlberg, but it looks like MacFarlane instead took a cue from his own established character writing template and made Ted an actual personality with a job and certain attractive qualities that the ladies adore. This is the guy who specializes in shows where dogs, aliens, goldfish, and bears that can talk and have the capacity for reason are accepted members of society after all.

Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld), Joel McHale (Community), and Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar) co-star in the movie.

Ted will open in theaters on July 13, 2012. You can also check out the film’s Facebook page and follow Ted’s Twitter feed.

Trailer

[Source: Ted Is Real]