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 Animation in 2001, released April 22 through Universal Pictures at a moment when computer animation was still finding its identity beyond Pixar's early run. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it upended fairy tale convention with irreverence, pop music, and a green ogre as its hero, earning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and reshaping what family animation could sound and look like for the decade that followed.
This cell holds three of the film's central figures together in a single frame of celluloid, its scene identified as Fiona alongside Shrek and Donkey. That grouping places the princess in direct company with the film's ogre lead and his talking companion, a trio whose dynamic carries much of the story's comedy and heart. Collectors prize Fiona cells for her dual nature as both storybook royalty and subversive heroine, and any 35mm piece uniting all three names together represents a rarer, more complete slice of the picture's core relationships on film.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; the strip holds two frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge; bottom edge perforations are partially obscured by the soundtrack area but appear present; spacing looks even and punches appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual bilateral waveform consistent with a stereo optical track; a narrow digital data stripe consistent with a Dolby Digital block pattern is also visible between the optical track and the picture area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-blue tint typical of modern safety stock; dye image reads as warm and saturated with no visible fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; two consecutive frames from what appears to be the same sequence; imagery is consistent with the CGI-animated characters associated with Shrek (2001).
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the 2001 release date on record.
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 000063127
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
