Back in 1971, Warner Bros. Pictures adapted Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, into an iconic film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Starring Gene Wilder as the eccentric chocolatier, the film has since become a cultural icon. It tells the story of a contest to win a visit to Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory. Those who found a Golden Ticket in one of Wonka’s bars would get to meet Wonka and tour his factory. Five lucky children from around the world soon join Wonka, but a series of mishaps whittle them down to just one. But before disaster befalls the group of lucky visitors, their introduction to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory is a vast room. Here they are greeted by a chocolate river and a meadow of edible treats. This magical part of the factory is also the inspiration for the latest addition to the LEGO Ideas range. Come with me and we’ll see what the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory set has to offer.
Product Details
Set Name: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | Set Number: 21360 | Pieces: 2025 | Theme: Ideas
Number of Bags: Bags x 16 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: x 1 | Characters: Minifigures x 9
RRP: £199.99/219.99€/$219.99/349.99AUD/279.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores & LEGO Online from September 15th (Insiders) September 18th (General)
Back in August 2024, it was revealed that the Charlie & the Chocolate Factory – Here We Go Again fan project had been chosen to become a future set. It was created by fan designer duo Roberto Ceruti and Jody Padulano, also known as 2PPL. Their project included a unique take on part of Wonka’s colourful factory and the children who won a tour of it. It was inspired by the book more than the 1971 film or any other versions of the story, as the final set is.
The set features a significantly longer footprint than the original project, but retains a few key features. Although these have been recreated with influence from the original. The build begins with the base of the set, which isn’t overly complex but does feature an array of elements and plates to help create its unusual curved island. It also helps to give the two side sections of the base a slightly raised platform against the river of brown studs, which represent the iconic chocolate river. It can be tricky to see where some of the single studs, plates and slopes need to be placed, especially in the areas of single coloured plates.
On the subject of the chocolate river, this is famously churned by a chocolate waterfall. This becomes the set’s main play feature. It’s simply replicated by a belt of 22 tracks. They are the larger, chunkier track runs often used for larger construction vehicles in LEGO City or Technic. Each track is dressed with either a brown 1×6 flat tile or a 2×6 plate. Once it looked a little more chocolaty, it fitted over a couple of gears. It can then be moved by a handle on the rear of the set. Turning this gives the belt of brown elements the appearance of falling into the chocolate river below. The waterfall is held in place by the surrounding rocky wall of the factory. It’s been well incorporated into the overall set and doesn’t require an overly complicated mechanism to work.
The rocky wall, which helps secure the chocolate water, doubles as the area where we first meet the Oompa Loompas. They use the area to add ingredients to the chocolate river as well as delight their new audience with a song. Some of the tools they use can be found here, such as the metal shoot they use to deploy sugar and milk into the river. The same section of the set is used to add a little extra detail, now included in the fan’s design. So there are a couple of small rooms which are used to add several Easter Eggs from the film. These include Wonka’s office, a small TV from the Television Room and lickable wallpaper. Most of the elements in this part of the set feature stickers, but they are easy enough to apply.
If you’ve watched the original film, you know that the factory is a magical place. As Wonka recounts the famous Pure Imagination song, his visitors are free to explore, and this is when we see a colourful array of edible treats. Many of them are inspired by plants, so we see candy cane trees, bubblegum bushes and tea cup flowers. These have all been recreated for the side and decorate the banks of the chocolate river. The use of parts and colours gives the set a vibrant visual appeal, which makes it an impressive displayable set.
Another addition to the final design not found in the fan design is Wonka’s boat. This transports those on the tour through a terrifying tunnel. The ornate boat has an interesting appearance, and to recreate it, the brick-built version requires a slightly tricky build. The base of the bed, especially the front section, is quite complex to build. Some parts are held in place with other pieces, which does make it a little tricky to complete. But once everything is in place and pieces together, it provides a stable and impressive recreation of the boat, thankfully with none of the nightmarish flashes from the film.
The set includes 9 minifigures, which are based on the versions of the characters from the original film. The highlight of the line-up is the man himself, Willy Wonka. His iconic hat and tuffs of hair are recreated with a new element. His purple jacket is bright on the torso and flows onto his legs. But the limitations of leg printing do make the leg part of the print look a little odd. Wonka is accompanied by two Oompa Loompas. These use fixed short legs along with the same torso and bright green hairpieces, but they each have different heads. Both include two expressions ranging from joyful to judgey.
Charlie Bucket’s minifigure is a good enough recreation of the character, but it’s quite plain. I know Charlie doesn’t wear flashy clothes, but the torso needed a little texture print on it at the very least. Charlie is joined by his once bedridden Grandpa Joe. The use of the same hairpiece previously used for Doc Brown perfectly captures Joe’s wispy locks.
Although Charlie is accompanied by his Grandpa, the rest of the kids go it alone. Augustus Gloop is the first kid to succumb to the pitfalls of Wonka’s factory. He’s a chubby chap, which is easily replicated in minifigure form. Instead, he’s the only kid to just standard legs. His fancy suit and shorts combo, along with a recoloured version of Superman’s hair, look great, but his chocolate-covered face is by far the best. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about bubblegum-loving Violet Beauregarde. She famously downs a three-course meal-themed piece of gum and soon turns blue. Although her minifigure matches the character’s usual appearance, it makes no effort to show her transformation or love of gum. One of the two expressions could have featured a bubble of gum or the first tints of the soon-to-be blue affliction.
Veruca Salt is the spoiled brat who gets everything she wants. Her minifigure manages to capture her slightly evil expression perfectly. I also love the use of a short skirt element to represent her dress. Mike Teavee is an avid TV watcher and fan of westerns, which is shown by his choice of outfit. His torso is fun, and although it is slightly awkward, I like that his cowboy hat has been included. All of the kids have their own printed Golden Tickets, which are 1×2 tiles.
It’s a fabulously colourful set, and the use of elements to help recreate Wonka’s magical factory is amazing. Although the fan design wasn’t based on any particular version of the Wonka story, I totally understand why the original film has been chosen as the influence for the set. Not only is it easier to license, it’s the most iconic version of Roald Dahl’s much-loved book. The minifigures are a decent representation of the film characters, although some could have been a little better. It’s also a little on the expensive side, however I don’t think that’s down to tying the set to a license. But overall, this is another great addition to the most varied and inventive LEGO themes. Ideas continues to offer some great builds from a wide range of interests and popular characters. The LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory set launches on September 15th for Insiders.
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The LEGO Group provided this set to BricksFanz for this review. However, the thoughts expressed in this review are those of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Warner Bros. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
