Build Review of LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (21360)

We got our hands on LEGO Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (21360) BUT is it a Golden Ticket or a bad egg?

From the original submission in November 2023, to a fully fledged LEGO set in September 2025, LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (21360) hit the shelves in under two years.

Now we've seen this set for ourselves - and have a made-to-measure display case for LEGO 21360 to keep your set looking at its best.

But what are our thoughts on the set itself? Read on to find out in our exclusive build review of LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (21360).

LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (21360)

Price: $219.99

Release Date: Available Now

Ages: 18+

Pieces: 2,025

LEGO Minifigures: 9

LEGO Insiders Points: 1,430

Size: 19 x 52 x 26 cm (H x W x D)

What's in the Box?

LEGO Ideas 21360 is a 2,025-piece 'Adults Welcome' LEGO display set with nine LEGO Minifigures. It's a 16-bag build, and you'll have to wait until bag 16 before LEGO Minifigure Willy Wonka joins the line-up!

There are 449 steps in the building instructions for this one, and we're quite surprised that it's a one-booklet build. With 344 pages, it's more of a book than a booklet, complete with a glued spine instead of staples.

Because of this, it's awkward to get the booklet to stay open on the right page, and you might want to download the LEGO Builder app version just in case!

What's the Build Process Like?

Building LEGO Willy Wonka 21360 is a bit of a rollercoaster. The very first thing out of the bag is the Charlie Bucket LEGO Minifigure, with his golden ticket in hand, and it's always nice having a main character to supervise the rest of the build.

All About That Base

After that it's on to assembling the base. This part is super long and tedious. You lay the brown bottom layer for the chocolate river, then the green grassy banks, then the upright and gears for the waterfall.

There are some movie easter eggs (not the chocolate kind!) in Willy Wonka's office, plus a few Oompa Loompa accessories like a sack of sugar to add, but a lot of the assembly feels like a chore.

Get With The Flow

An especially repetitive part is the 22-segment conveyor belt that allows the chocolate waterfall to move. You have to put this together, add the brown background, and then follow a specific pattern to add surface ripples.

In the end, it's not a bad-looking set, but it somehow lacks the usual satisfaction of watching a favorite LEGO set grow from the ground up.

The Sensible Choice

We'd have liked to see the colorful flowers added earlier in the build to keep it interesting, but it's difficult to do the fiddly-twiddly details early on, so at least this way you don't have to deal with parts popping off.

It's logical, but it does mean you're a long way into the build before it really starts to look like anything. Even the Wonkatania paddleboat is one of the last items you assemble, when it could have been used to break up that long slog of base-building early on.

Our Impressions of the Build

Overall, it's NOT a bad build - and some builders will absolutely enjoy it all the way through, including the handful of steps you repeat 22 times (or even 44 times) while creating the chocolate waterfall 'conveyor belt'.

We found it hard to get into it though. There was never really a 'wow' moment where the set came together, it just progresses from tedious, to repetitive, to fiddly flowers and foliage at the end.

The Good: Fantastic LEGO Minifigures

The LEGO Minifigures are the highlight of this set. They really do look like the 1971 characters, with some spot-on hairpieces and adorable reversible facial expressions.

In a perfect world, the other children's parents would be included too, but it's not a huge problem that they're not present. We would have LOVED a few more Oompa Loompas though, as they tend to appear in larger groups in the movie.

The Bad: A Bit TOO Brown

While the moving chocolate waterfall is a nice touch, it dominates the build and could use a few lighter-colored highlights to break up the slab of dark brown. With the brown base of the chocolate river, plus the brown bridge and the brown Oompa Loompa hillside... it's a lot of brown.

The flowers help a bit, but they're mostly confined to the edges of the scene, and the Wonkatania boat's blue-and-white livery doesn't seem to do much to brighten things up. It's a shame that Wonka's office is hidden away behind the cliff face, as there are some of the most colorful and entertaining details in there.

Trivia & Tidbits

Why isn't it called LEGO Ideas Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

Roald Dahl's original book was titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but this set is based on the 1971 movie, where the title was flipped to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory instead.

What is the LEGO 21360 Minifigures full list?

LEGO 21360 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory includes nine LEGO Minifigures:

• Willy Wonka
• 2x Oompa Loompas
• Grandpa Joe
• Charlie Bucket
• Augustus Gloop
• Violet Beauregarde
• Veruca Salt
• Mike Teevee

The designs of the Minifigures in LEGO 21360 are honestly fantastic. We just wish there were more of them!

Can you motorize the chocolate waterfall in LEGO 21360?

Yes! The chocolate waterfall is turned by a manual dial in the original build. However, it's an easy upgrade to remove the dial and add a LEGO motor directly onto the same axle.

Either way, our Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Display Case for LEGO 21360 includes a hinged back panel so you can access the dial or motor anytime you want the chocolate waterfall to turn.

How to Display It

We actually have two options to display LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (21360) depending on whether you want easy access to the waterfall dial:

• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Display Case for LEGO 21360 with Rear Access Door
• Correct Size Display Case for LEGO 21360 without Rear Access Door

Both cases have external dimensions of 54 x 28 x 25 cm (L x W x H) and internal space for 65 x 32 studs, so you can measure up and find the perfect place for your LEGO Willy Wonka display case!

Looking for more? Browse our full range of display cases for LEGO Ideas sets.

Final Thoughts

We're always honest and the truth is, we're a little underwhelmed by this set. The original idea is a great one and the nostalgia hits all the way, but the dark chocolatey brown makes things a bit monotonous.

That being said, it's ripe for a MOC. Bring the green grass all the way across (there's just enough room in front of the boat) and add some more brightly colored flowers. Swap out the 'ripples' on the waterfall for a lighter shade of brown to add highlights. And motorize it.

With a few small changes like those, it could be much more visually striking. As it is, it's still a pretty sweet set if you're a fan of the movie, and it's worth it for the Minifigures alone.

OUR BUILD RATING: 6.5/10

What do YOU think of LEGO Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - and how would you customize your build?