Movie tip: "Ted"

I had reservations about seeing Seth MacFarlane's first foray into the big screen. His cavalcade of Fox network cartoons has given him the reputation of a creative mind that has been said "yes" to far too often in the past decade. Fortunately, he earns every bit of that kind of trust with the comedic titan that is "Ted." MacFarlane provides the voice of Mark Wahlberg's childhood teddy bear, which comes to life as the result of a magical Christmas wish. What starts out as a wholesome kid's story quickly fast-forwards several years; now, the two are foul-mouthed grown men who haven't quite learned how to grow up. The best thing about "Ted" is how good of a job MacFarlane does at making sure his audience eats their vegetables. What I mean by that is, he makes sure that, while the audience never stops laughing for too long, his story and characters can carry some emotional and dramatic weight to them, no matter how bizarre the situation may be.

- TYLER MCCARTHY