National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2020
“Even by DreamWorks standards, the charm and magic of "Shrek" seemed extraordinary upon its initial release almost 20 years ago — and its power has yet to diminish in the intervening years.”
Selected for preservation as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
Directed by
Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
Studio
DreamWorks · DreamWorks Animation · Pacific Data Images · 90 min
Box office
$488.4M worldwide on a $60M budget
Honors
Academy Awards — 1 win, 2 nominationsAnnie Awards — 1 winBritish Academy Film Awards — 1 winCritics' Choice Movie Award — 1 winAll 4 wins · 3 nominations on record
Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature
Annie Awards: Best Animated Feature
British Academy Film Awards: BAFTA's Children & Young People Award - Feature Film
Critics' Choice Movie Award: Best Animated Feature
Scholarship
Named in the title of 17 peer-reviewed works
Examples
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Shrek arrived from DreamWorks in 2001 as a defiant counter-fable, releasing the same summer as Disney's more traditional fare and stealing the cultural moment outright. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired William Steig's storybook premise with pop-soundtrack irreverence and Mike Myers's ogre voice work, going on to win the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Its success reshaped what animated studios believed audiences wanted: humor with edge, romance without prettiness, and a hero who never apologized for his swamp.
This cell holds Shrek and Fiona together, the film's central pairing and the reason the story still resonates as a romance built on subversion rather than convention. Fiona, the princess who refuses to stay a fairy tale cliche, and Shrek, the ogre who refuses to stay a villain, are the two figures collectors most want to see side by side. A frame naming both characters together points to the partnership itself, the moment the story's entire argument about love and appearance takes shape.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print
Edge print reads mirrored: '2 383 504 069 1 3 7 KOD. 4K 28 2001 N' — consistent with Kodak key-number and stock coding.
Base & colour
Base appears with a light cyan-blue tint typical of Kodak color print stock; dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible splices; light surface marks consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate are present.
Picture
Positive color image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the animated characters visible are consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The combination of Kodak color print stock with a cyan base, dual Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, and the '2001' code in the edge print is consistent with a theatrical release print from 2001.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063118
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
