Inside the Massive Australian Set Behind Netflix’s ‘Wonka’s The Golden Ticket’

Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory has opened its doors again — only this time, it was built on the Gold Coast.

Netflix’s new reality competition series Wonka’s The Golden Ticket is now streaming, with newly released production details revealing the enormous scale of the Australian-made recreation of Roald Dahl’s fantastical world.

Filmed at Village Roadshow Studios in Queensland, the production constructed an 88,000-square-foot Chocolate Factory across three studios, creating what showrunner Emer Harkin described as a scale unlike anything previously attempted in the television competition space.

And unlike many effects-heavy fantasy productions, much of what contestants encounter actually existed.

The factory took 12 weeks to construct and incorporated 37,000 square metres of brickwork, more than 5,800 square feet of synthetic grass and approximately 10,000 gallons of purple and gold paint.

The Chocolate Room was also filled with edible creations, including raspberry-flavoured flowers and candied apples that contestants could pick from trees.

Produced by Eureka Productions, a Fremantle company, The Golden Ticket brings 12 contestants and their chosen partners into the factory to face a series of games, temptations and challenges inspired by the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The production also features an unexpected connection to the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Gene Wilder’s performance as Wonka is represented through a recreation of the late actor’s voice, used with the consent of his estate, while original Oompa-Loompa actor Rusty Goffe returns more than five decades after appearing in the film.

Australian magician Adam Mada was brought onto the production as a magic consultant, helping create practical illusions that allowed contestants to seemingly disappear and reappear throughout the factory without relying on editing or post-production effects.

The series represents another significant international production for Queensland.

Screen Queensland previously estimated The Golden Ticket would inject around $17 million into the local economy and support more than 210 employment opportunities after the production was secured through its Production Attraction Strategy.

Netflix has increasingly used Australia as a production base for both local and international projects, with the streamer highlighting The Golden Ticket earlier this year as an example of the technical and creative capabilities of the Australian screen sector.

For The Golden Ticket, that capability meant doing something few contestants could have expected when receiving their invitation: building Wonka’s world for real.

Wonka’s The Golden Ticket is streaming now on Netflix.