It may be many young boys’ dream to have a buddy for life but, as this feature-length directorial debut by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane demonstrates, sometimes life itself just gets in the way. The film opens in 1985, in the city of Swampscott, Massachusetts, where 12-year-old John Bennett is an outcast, even in the eyes of a bullied Jewish boy. His one wish is that his teddy bear, Ted, should come to life to be his friend. And, by some miracle, this comes true.