Mark Wahlberg plays John, a perfectly normal Boston native whose childhood wish for his teddy bear to come to life comes true. The bear (Ted) — voiced by MacFarlane himself — remains his best friend well into his adult years. Conflict emerges when Ted's irresponsible and vulgar slacker lifestyle comes in the way of John's attempt to embrace his adulthood and the woman of his dreams, Lori (Mila Kunis). MacFarlane's directorial debut will be a live-action effort with the exception of the computer-animated Ted. MacFarlane wrote the screenplay alongside his Family Guy colleagues Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild.