I’ve been waiting 60 years (literally!) for the LEGO Group to produce this set! 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is available now, and I got the chance to take a look at it on behalf of BrickNerd.

The book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory holds a special place in my heart. I still remember my first-grade teacher, Miss Gorman, reading the book to the class. She would read one chapter a day—if we were well-behaved. While I had grown up with many illustrated books, this was the first time I remember a book painting such vivid pictures using only words.

This new set is based on the LEGO Ideas submission by two Italian AFOLs, Roberto Ceruti (BRICKUP) and Jody Padulano (JodyPad). Rather than a simple clinical type set review, we decided to look at design aspects of the set compared to the Ideas submission, the movies, and a few other AFOL MOCs. And just maybe we’ll try to help tell the rest of the story the set overlooks in LEGO….

Right off the bat, the design team of Jordan David Scott, Laura Perron, and Crisy Dyment established early on with the intellectual property (IP) partner Warner Bros. Studio that the model would be based on the 1971 Gene Wilder version of the movie. But that doesn’t mean that some influences from the 2005 Johnny Depp version didn’t sneak in.

all movie photos via warner bros. studio

The setting for the model captures the WOW moment when the children and movie viewers first see the magnificent chocolate room. No doubt a huge portion of the movie budget was spent on this elaborate set! I always thought this scene was a little reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy opens the door of her house and sees the full color Munchkinville. And of course, you can’t help but draw a similarity between the Munchkins and the Oompa Loompas (more on them later…).

A Tasty Sampling of AFOL MOCs

Before entering into the chocolate room, let’s look at a few MOCs from around the AFOL community first.

This MOC of the classic movie set was posted by THE Brickman, but it was actually built by two members of his team who aren’t professional builders. Given the quality of the model, I would say they are ready to join the build team.

One of our BrickNerd contributors Lorren Loveless built the same scene and motorized the boat to float down the chocolate river with a flowing chocolate waterfall.

And lastly, another AFOL built the same scene is this MOC, built (somewhat hastily) for display at Bricks LA in 2017. (Full disclosure, that other AFOL was me, the author of this article.)

Each version has its own magic with paths, tasty treats and that lovely brown river. But let’s take a closer look at the LEGO Ideas submission and final set to see what we can learn.

No Other Factory Mixes Their Chocolate by Waterfall

Both the LEGO Ideas submission and the final set feature a fun mechanized version of the iconic chocolate waterfall (chocofall?). While the reddish-brown is a perfect LEGO color for this, the 1971 movie waterfall actually had a very watery consistency.

In contrast and after experimenting with plates, tiles, printed tiles and more, the design team decided to depict a “gloopier” consistency in the waterfall similar to the 2005 movie version.

While the waterfall in the Ideas submittal was motorized, I’m just as glad the released version is not. I think the added cost of a motor wouldn’t be justified in this case.

The mechanism to activate the waterfall is simple to manually operate, and the design is readily adaptable to add a motor for those who would like one. The MOC versions above also have static brick/plate waterfalls, except for Lorren’s, which rotates with tiles.

Bridging The Scene Together

A primary feature of both the Ideas submission and the released model a bridge going over the river, which more closely ties back to the Johnny Depp movie version from 2005.

The released set incorporates a variety of color highlights in homage to the rainbow coloration from the submission and the more modern film. Although there isn’t a bridge in the original movie’s chocolate room, we will soon see how its inclusion significantly contributes to the overall composition of the LEGO set.

S.S. Wonkatania

Speaking of bridges and boats, Roberto and Jody had considered adding the classic boat to their Ideas submission but decided not to in an effort to keep the size smaller, with an eventual goal of keeping the price point down. But thankfully, the LEGO designers realized that keeping the bridge and the resulting negative space provided the perfect opportunity to add the boat!

Senior Designer Markus Rollbühler was brought in to help the team really nail the intricate boat design. The design actually incorporates some of the 5-stud wide construction techniques refined by the Speed Champions team.

While building the boat, I thought the gold structure/bell at the front of the cockpit was too large. But re-watching the movie clip showed that while it isn’t quite as delicate, it is accurately sized.

The MOCs from Brickman and minicoop4 both incorporate a more literal interpretation of the Wonkatania. Both are effective, although the Brickman version is much better stylized. Minicoop4 gets points for the 8-stud deep tunnels, which can help better portray either the arrival or departure of the Wonkatania.

The big problem with the Brickman version is that it is traveling backwards (L to R)! I know that water will swirl the opposite direction down sink drains in the southern hemisphere due to the Coriolis effect, but I didn’t know entire boats would reverse direction!!

Golden Ticket Minifigures

Comparing the characters included, I couldn’t help but notice the quality of the minifigures in the set is wonderful. The photo comparison below shows how the five children and Wonka are all very well done and literal translations, save for Charlie’s pants. I really like how the differing leg heights are used to provide more diversity.

The inclusion of Grandpa Joe was a welcome addition to the Ideas submission, too. As the designers stated, he is critical to the story and is still present at the very end. Interestingly, the designers said some influence on the set’s minifigures was provided by a live stage musical which I now have to go watch!

♫ Oompa Loompa, Haven’t You Heard, LEGO Fans Love Reading BrickNerd! ♫

The stars of the set are undoubtedly the Oompa Loompas who feature splendid printed torsos. LEGO really seems to be improving the opaqueness of white printing on darker backgrounds. The green hair pieces look great as well.

The biggest surprise in assembling the Oompa Loompa minifigures was that they both have unique double-sided printed orange heads. According to the design team, there were both male and female actors in the 1971 version of the movie. The smallest eyelash details were added to one head print to ensure the women were represented. No doubt this will please the Women’s Brick Initiative (WBI) when they do their minifigure representation survey later this year.

The Ideas submission depicted the Oompa Loompas with their distinctive striped socks, but the released set uses plain white small leg assemblies. When the design team was asked if this was a design choice, a budget constraint, or other factor, graphic artist Crisy Dyment replied that it was about the overall cohesive appearance of the set. They were concerned that adding the striped printing might have drawn too much attention away from the other minifigures (as if the orange faces and green hair aren’t already grabbing your attention!). While I personally would have liked to have seen the printing, I was satisfied that the team had considered it while making the many dozens of design and budget compromises that go into a production set.

However, on the other hand, I consider including only two Oompa Loompas to be the bare minimum acceptable quantity. Many people have expressed a desire for more, with even the design team jokingly admitting they, too, would like to see an Oompa Loompa “battle pack.”

Trivia time! How many Oompa Loompa actors were in the 2005 version of the movie?

Answer: While the 1971 movie featured ten Oompa Loompa actors, the 2005 version had only one! I remember watching a documentary-type show about the movie where actor Deep Roy described the exhausting role. I had assumed scenes like the one shown below used digital effects to produce the army of Oompa Loompas. But it turns out he had to do the same dance routine in each of the locations, then they were digitally overlaid to create the composite film footage. If you look closely, you’ll see slight variations in the arm/hand positioning. That must have been exhausting indeed!

The MOCs we saw earlier used standard available minifigure components to try and replicate the characters. It will be nice for future MOC builders to have official Oompa Loompa minifigures to work with, though I can see them getting rare and expensive.

Choosing The All-Important Color Palate

Taking a look at the color differences, Brick Masters Amy and Jamie from LEGO Masters in the US often caution against using too much brown in MOCs on LEGO Masters. Brickman went so far as to say that too much brown “sucks the life out of the model.” So, what could the design team do with a model featuring a chocolate river and waterfall?

Fortunately, the foreground was naturally going to feature “controlled chaos” of candy goodness color, complemented by the green (edible grass) landscape base. But the team didn’t stop there. Rather than using a cool gray palette for the rock structure backdrop, a warmer nougat color was chosen along with tan and dark tan. While not as movie-accurate as gray, it helps create a pleasing, unified appearance, which you can see in comparison to the MOC versions of the same scene.

Small Details Complete the Picture

To be honest, the first few times I watched the movie, I didn’t pay any attention to the actual chocolate factory building where the scene takes place. My attention was focused on all the literal eye candy in the foreground.

It wasn’t until doing some research for my MOC that I paid attention to the dark red factory walls and arched windows. So, I was very pleased that the designers included a small section of the window wall as a way to ground the scene within a factory.

Tricking the Eye

During the design process, Laura experimented with multiple lamp post designs using a variety of elements. Rather than choosing her favorite and including multiple copies in the set, she included three different designs.

This created a forced perspective method of emphasizing how large the chocolate room is. Two of the lampposts are mounted on plinths which are attached using a clever stud reversal technique that I won’t spoil for you here.

Tasty Treats

On the inside, there are hidden details as well. Wonka’s invention of fruit-flavored lickable wallpaper is included in the set as a sticker in his office. Though it’s just too bad LEGO wasn’t able to master the fruit flavoring on the stickers you could taste… or did they? Just kidding! Don’t try this at home!

Some other notable details of the model include the giant gummy bear tree, candy cane tree, “edible” teacups and a life-sized everlasting gobstopper hidden under an arch. But there are many more fun designs for everyone to discover.

The Demise Departure of the Children

Of the five children who found a Golden Ticket, four of them “departed” the tour early. Their actions, rooted in bad habits, resulted in some humorous but somewhat tragic fates. Now that we have long-awaited “official” minifigures, I thought it would be fun to use them (or portions of them) to build some quick models telling the rest of the story.

“My Chocolate Must Never Be Touched By Human Hands”

This quote from Willy Wonka is remarkably similar to the LEGO factory. In most cases. the end consumer is the first human to touch the LEGO bricks when the box is opened! Augustus Gloop is the first child to go, even before the giant factory scene ends, though he missed one awesome boat ride.

The box art hints at this outcome with his minifigure shown leaning over the edge of the chocolate river, while also keeping the narrative family-friendly. The team described experimenting with Augustus being launched up a chocolate pipe, but felt the scale didn’t work with the overall model.

“I Wouldn’t Do That….I Really Wouldn’t”

Willy Wonka again utters words of warning as Violet Beauregarde grabs a piece of the experimental three-course meal chewing gum. But she was determined to try the gum and really enjoyed the distinct meal flavors right up until she turned blue and grew into an oversized blueberry! The Oompa Loompas survey the situation before rolling her out the double doors towards the juicing room.

“Stop… Don’t… Come Back”

This warning was delivered in a deadpan manner by Wonka since he knew full well it would go unheeded. Television addict Mike Teavee was determined to be the first human sent via Wonkavision. While the transfer worked, he ignored the shrinking effect that had just been demonstrated with a giant chocolate bar.

One of my favorite lines of the movie occurs after Wonka instructs an Oompa Loompa to take shrunken Mike to the taffy pulling room. The Oompa Loompa whispers in his ear and after an unheard comment, Wonka replies, “No, no, I won’t hold you responsible!” Miniaturized Mike is also referenced in the set with a sticker depiction in Wonka’s office.

“She Was A Bad Egg”

Spoiled brat Veruca Salt has yet another “I want a ___” demand when she sees the geese laying oversized golden eggs. The Wonka factory, like the LEGO factory, places a high value on quality products. Each egg undergoes a quality check to determine whether it is good or bad. After her tirade, which makes a complete mess of the room, she unwisely steps on the platform and gets dumped down the garbage shoot along with the other bad eggs.

“My Boy, You’ve Won!”

Spoiler alert: At the end of the film, the humble Charlie Bucket (and Grandpa Joe) outlast all the other children. After a close call when he surrenders his everlasting gobstopper, Willy Wonka tells him he’s won the entire factory! The three of them board the Wonkavator (aka glass elevator) and launch out of the factory roof!

If you look closely, there was a bit of a disconnect between the simple life-size Wonkavator in the movie and the the more ornate miniature version that crashes through the roof. The miniature Wonkavator has a domed roof with a spire, as well as stabilizing fins that aren’t visible in the initial scene. Perhaps the director felt it needed a little more pizazz after the live actor scene was filmed. Too bad it wasn’t included as a GWP for the LEGO version.

Worth the Wait?

Given my love for the story, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m certainly not an impartial reviewer. But did the set deliver and make the wait worthwhile? I would definitely say yes, this set was worth the wait.

Yes, we all can look at any LEGO set and point out things that could be added or done differently. But even with schedules to meet and budgets to stay within, the entire design team has struck a wonderful balance of color, content and storytelling. I look forward to seeing many more MOCs inspired by the set and utilizing the new elements and fun minifigures!

LEGO Ideas 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is available now for around $220 US | $280 CA | €220 EU | £200 UK | $350 AU.

DISCLAIMER: This set was provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

What is your favorite moment from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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