Fox passed on Ted because Seth MacFarlane wanted a $65 million budget and they thought that was too much for a first-time director. Universal said yes, the movie made $549 million, and 14 years later they're launching the fourth product built on that bear. The interesting part is the format choice. Ted's whole gag in 2012 was a photoreal teddy bear standing in the real world. MacFarlane performed him in a motion capture suit, Wahlberg acted his scenes against empty air, and every frame with…