LEGO Ideas 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory review

Come with Brick Fanatics and you'll be in a world of pure LEGO imagination with the scrumdiddilyumptious 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

The 68th LEGO Ideas set takes its cues from the 1971 live-action movie starring Gene Wilder, which was in turn based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, and a fan-designed model created by Roberto Ceruti and Jody Padulano, collectively known as 2PPL. 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory offers a tantalising slice of the musical fantasy film, complete with the good ship S.S. Wonkatania, a working chocolate waterfall, nine minifigures and surprises around every corner.

21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Release: Sep 15, 2025

Retiring: Dec 31, 2027

Price: £199.99 / $219.99 / €219.99

Pieces: 2,025

Minifigures: 9

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Here We Go Again! was successfully selected during the third LEGO Ideas review of 2023, after being pitched once before, with a different design back in 2021. That persistence finally paid off and has been tweaked further, with 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory building on the foundations of the fan-designed model to take full advantage of its Warner Bros. licensed content.

Fans of the 1971 movie are in for a sugary treat when they assemble the 18+ LEGO Ideas set, with numerous nods to the movie scattered throughout. Bonus: this is one model that will actually start to make you feel a little hungry after a few hours of assembling multiple candy-coloured pieces.

What you’re looking at here is essentially a large-scale diorama that’s reminiscent in many ways of both 21351 The Nightmare Before Christmas and 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire. 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory consists of two brick-built islands separated by a chocolate river and connected with an arched bridge.

Each area of the LEGO Ideas model is packed with plenty of details for fans to discover as they assemble the build, although it’s a set that’s not without some minor teething problems. However, there’s still plenty of candy-coloured joy to be had early on in the construction process, with a sturdy base leading to one of 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory's most impressive features, its hand-cranked chocolate waterfall.

Assembled using a selection of nearly all Technic elements, this part of the LEGO Ideas model is basically one large tank tread that loops around three gear wheels and can then be operated via a wheel mechanism located at the back of the build.

In fact, in many ways the brick-built chocolate waterfall is even more visually satisfying than its on-screen counterpart and the various shades of brown elements utilised in its construction do indeed simulate the look of the dripping confectionary. We suspect it won’t be long before some creative types actually motorise the set’s waterfall, but it doesn’t feel like that sort of functionality is too much of a loss when it comes to this LEGO Ideas model.

That’s not the only surprise waiting to be discovered within 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory though. Also to be found at the rear of the LEGO Ideas build is a tiny version of Willy Wonka’s office, packed with hilarious half-accessories such as a sink with one tap, a portion of a rotating chair, stickered lickable wallpaper and part of the contract that the Golden Ticket winners signed to gain access to the factory.

A secret door leads from Willy Wonka’s office to an exterior section next to the flowing waterfall, allowing the included Oompa Loompas to add extra cane sugar to the chocolate river using a tipping chute device and wheelbarrow. A fudge-coloured bridge then connects both main sections of the build, providing enough height for the S.S. Wonkatania to pass underneath, with this part of the model having been moved back from the original fan design to match the film set’s layout more closely.

The right-hand side of 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory also plays with forced perspective, a trick utilised in the 1971 film, so that when viewed from a certain angle, three black lampposts appear to shrink in size, providing a sense of scale and giving the illusion of greater depth than there actually is.

Both islands of the LEGO Ideas build are covered with multiple green elements to simulate grass, offering up the opportunity to recreate mini scenes from the movie, and topped off with a colourful selection of sweet-based decorations. Those include a teacup plant, huge lollipops, a candy-cane tree, scrumdiddilyumptious fruit, a whipped-cream-topped mushroom and more tasty brick-built treats, all assembled from a lush and warm colour palette of pieces.

Yet it’s that same confectionary that also slows down the building process later on, with too many tiny plants to be made and the instruction manual proving to be a slightly frustrating tool when it comes to placing some pieces at certain angles or in specific locations.

Fortunately, things pick up again later on, with the removable S.S. Wonkatania proving to be a satisfying model to make, one that includes room for at least seven minifigures to be placed inside, a rotatable paddle wheel at the rear and a printed blue and white parasol topping off the unique vessel.

Speaking of minifigures, the cast of 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is yet another highlight of the LEGO Ideas set. Included are Willy Wonka himself (complete with new hat and hair element), Charlie Bucket, Grandpa Joe (who’d make a great Albert Einstein minifigure), Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregard, Augustus Gloop, Mike Teavee and both male and female Oompa Loompas.

All nine minifigures boast detailed front and back torso printing to match their live-action film counterparts, apart from Charlie Bucket (presumably because he’s so poor), yet it’s only Willy Wonka and Augustus Gloop who gain any sort of leg printing. With that being said, both Wonka and the Golden Ticket winner could really have benefited from dual-moulded legs, but that’s just a minor niggle which can be overlooked.

Each of the 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory minifigures also has an alternate face print, offering more expressions to play around with, from Augustus Gloop’s chocolate-covered mouth to a total of three different looks across the two Oompa Loompas.

With so much attention to detail spread across the LEGO Ideas set’s minifigure selection, it feels slightly wrong to nit-pick further, but it’s hard not to bemoan the lack of a dedicated alternate purple head to allow Violet Beauregard to turn ‘violet’, a spherical version of the character, similar to the inflated Aunt Marge included with 76451 Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit, or a microscale Mike Teavee (although the latter can be spotted on a Wonkavision sticker).

21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is rounded out with a handful of accessories, with the stand-out being five printed Golden Tickets for each of the children to hold, although there’s only one giant-sized everlasting gobstopper hidden somewhere in the build.

Also absent is the multi-directional Great Glass Wonkavator, which would have potentially made for a fantastic GWP to accompany the LEGO Ideas set (alas, none appears to be forthcoming). 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory still manages to deliver a colourful collision of absurdity and genius in a well thought-out model, one that will undoubtedly delight the inner child in all builders for many years to come.

Our honest opinion: LEGO builders can live out their dreams with a dandy candy-coloured LEGO Ideas set that successfully honours its original source material.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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How long does it take to build 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory?

You’re looking at around five hours minimum to fully construct 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, with plenty of fiddly sub-builds to assemble later on.

How many pieces are in 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory?

21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is comprised of 2,025 pieces, used to assemble the main diorama, its minifigures and the S.S. Wonkatania.

How big is 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory?

21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory measures over 19cm tall, 52cm wide and 26cm deep, which means you’ll need a decent amount of space to display the model.

How much does 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory cost?

21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is priced at £199.99 in the UK, $219.99 in the US and €219.99 in Europe and will launch on September 15 for Insiders, with everyone else able to pick it up from September 18.