Seth Macfarlane understands the importance of toeing the line.
Unsurprisingly, the release of Ted 2 has sparked a range of complaints about Seth Macfarlane's over-the-edge style of humour. Well, the film does contain a gag about Charlie Hebdo. But MacFarlane insists that he's not out to offend anyone.
'Ted 2' explores Ted's right to be recognised as a person
"The context, to me, makes it OK," he says about the scene in which stoners John (played by Mark Wahlberg) and his teddy bear pal Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) shout rude suggestions to an improvisational stand-up comic. "You're not mocking any one of those events or people; you're acknowledging these are all tragedies that don't belong in a comedy club, and that is why the audience goes along with you."
More: Watch the video interview with Seth MacFarlane
MacFarlane actually believes that Ted 2 is "less edgy and raunchy" than the 2012 original. "We never try to shock just for shock's sake," he insists. "The gag has to be funny first. But if it's funny and it shocks people, that's even better! The audience will tell you when you've crossed the line. If you do a test-screening and something gets a gasp or a groan every single time, then you know that, no matter how much you love a joke, it's got to go because you've gone too far."
Watch the trailer for 'Ted 2' here:
For the sequel MacFarlane's main goal was to push the characters in new directions. "I think it's a better film than the first one because it has more of an underlying story," he says.
He had originally planned the sequel to centre on the buddies trying to smuggle a shipment of pot across the country, but abandoned that idea when it was used in the comedy We're the Millers. Instead, he came up with the idea to have Ted sue the state for the right to be recognised as a human while reading about the Civil War, specifically Dred Scott, a slave who went to the Supreme Court to prove he was human but lost the case.
More: Read our review of 'Ted 2'
"What would be an interesting way to tell a version of that story in the modern era?" MacFarlane asked himself. "I realised you could only do that with someone like Ted, who's not human, who doesn't have the legal status of a person. It seemed like a great opportunity to do something that's both funny and also a legitimate story that would separate it from being just another big, loud, wacky summer comedy."
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