Ted 2 Snuck One Of Family Guy's Longest Running Gags In The Background
After spending years proving himself in the realm of animation, Seth MacFarlane jumped into the world of live-action filmmaking in 2012. His debut feature came in the form of "Ted": a raunchy comedy about John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and his lifelong best friend, the sentient teddy bear named Ted (MacFarlane). While not a perfect movie, it performed well both in terms of financials and critical response, affording MacFarlane — who figured "Ted" would flop — more opportunities in the director's chair. After 2014's "A Million Ways to Die in the West," he got to work turning "Ted" into a franchise.
Three years after the release of "Ted," "Ted 2" premiered in cinemas everywhere. This time around, Ted and John find themselves in a heated legal battle over Ted's personhood. In the eyes of the state, he's considered property, thus disqualifying him from all of the rights and privileges of the average person. That may sound like a heavy premise, but make no mistake, "Ted 2" is all about bringing the laughs as well. In addition to your run-of-the-mill MacFarlane jokes, it has some pretty fun visual gags for eagle-eyed viewers to enjoy.
If you keep an eye out for it, you'll notice that "Ted 2" contains a reference to a long-running joke from one of Seth MacFarlane's greatest creations, "Family Guy."
Ted 2 gives a nod to Family Guy's Peter vs. Chicken fights
In the third act of "Ted 2," the main characters find themselves in the middle of the bustling New York Comic-Con showroom. As countless nerds and pop culture enthusiasts mingle, a fight breaks out — courtesy of Flash Gordon himself, Sam J. Jones — that soon engulfs a great many of them. Amid the chaos, someone dressed as "Family Guy" staple Peter Griffin is fighting a person in a chicken suit in the background (via Random Nostalgia Memes on YouTube) — a sight most viewers of the long-running animated sitcom are used to by now.
For years, Griffin (MacFarlane) and Ernie the Giant Chicken (Danny Smith) have gone one-on-one in devastating, city-destroying battles that spawn pretty much out of nowhere in certain episodes. Their feud started when Ernie gave Griffin an expired coupon, which sent him into a blind rage. At this point, these fights are a part of the DNA of "Family Guy," but that's not to say they're unanimously beloved. In a Reddit thread by a now-deleted user, fans seem split on them. Some feel they drag on far too long and aren't that entertaining, while others think they're fun and just infrequent enough to avoid becoming irritating.
Peter Griffin and Ernie's rivalry may not be everyone's favorite aspect of "Family Guy," but it's undoubtedly iconic at this point. Surely, some fans of the animated mainstay are glad "Ted 2" took some time to briefly acknowledge it.