It’s been 19 years since theUgliesbook was first released, and while I have waited eagerly all that time to see Tally hoverboarding on screen, I’m so glad it only happened now. The Netflix sci-fi movie was a long time coming since a screen adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s 2005 book was announced shortly after its release (in 2006). My aged copy ofUglieseven had a “soon to be a major motion picture” stamped on the front, but as I grew up and the years passed, I slowly gave up on this promise. Now, anUgliesmovie has finally become a reality, and after watching it, I’m glad I was forced to wait.
Uglieswas one of the first sci-fi booksI ever read, and I quickly fell in love with the technology of Tally’s world.Sure, movies likeBack to the Futurehad already made hoverboards cool, but the way Tally and her friends used them had me enthralled.Some of the best scenes in theUgliesbook included the hoverboard ride on the rusty rollercoasteror Tally’s cross-country adventure with one of the city’s more advanced boards.These were the primary reasons I wanted anUgliesmovie since I hoped hoverboardswould be brought to the screen precisely how I imagined them.
The Hoverboarding In Uglies Couldn’t Have Worked Without Modern Technology
Uglies' Hoverboarding Was Barely Possible Even Today (With A Reasonable Budget)
I was mostly satisfied by the hoverboarding scenes in Netflix’sUglies. The boards looked precisely how I pictured them, and the rollercoaster scene in the Rusty Ruins was truly spectacular. However, a few moments let me down just a touch. The scene in which Tally and Shay hoverboarded on custom tracks was pretty neat, butthere were several instances when the CGI broke the illusion. The movements of Tally and Shay’s computer-generated counterparts didn’t always look natural—andI can only imagine how much worse it would have been ifUgliescame out 18 years ago.
Had my teenage self actually gotten the Uglies movie I was promised in 2006, I would have been pretty disappointed.
Netflix likely gaveUgliesas much budget as it could justify, but even with today’s technology, the hoverboarding scenes didn’t look as cool as they had in my mind. For this reason, I’m grateful that Westerfeld’s book didn’t get made when it was initially supposed to. The level of CGI seen in the 2024 movie was possible in, say, 2014, but it would have been far more expensive. 2006, on the other hand, would have had a near-impossible time pulling this off.Had my teenage self actually gotten theUgliesmovie I was promised in 2006, I would have been pretty disappointed.
CGI & Budget Could Have Contributed To 18 Years Of Uglies Delays
An Uglies Movie Would Have Been Expensive In 2006
It’s precisely this that likely got in the way of anUgliesmovie being made all these years. The dystopian sci-fi boom of the 2010s would have probably been the best time culturally for the book to be adapted, but Westerfeld’s book wasn’t quite as high-profile as movies likeThe Hunger Games. A high budget would have been a significant risk for any production company and studio. Significant compromises would have been necessary, andiconicUgliesscenes like the rollercoaster ride might not have actually made it to the screen.
Scott Westerfeld said onXthat he told Netflix that Tally’s hoverboard ride on the rollercoaster “HAD” to be in theUgliesmovie.
Even if anUgliesmovie had happened back in the day, Westerfeld’s sequel books,PrettiesandSpecials, might not have stood a chance. It was common practice in the early 2000s for movie adaptations of book series to reduce the story down to a single installment (I’ll never forgive what they did to Cornelia Funke’sInkheart), and this likely would have been a must forUglies. CGI is all the more necessary for the sequels, so even now, it’s uncertain whether Netflix will continue Tally’s story. Of course, I hope they do since there is a lot more hoverboarding to see. Still, it will be expensive, so only time will tell.
Uglies
Cast
In a futuristic society where everyone undergoes compulsory cosmetic surgery at 16 to become “pretty,” Tally eagerly awaits her transformation. However, when her friend goes missing, she embarks on a journey that challenges her beliefs about beauty, conformity, and rebellion, ultimately questioning the foundations of their world.
