National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

DreamWorks Animation released Shrek in May 2001, marking a turning point for computer-animated features outside the Disney-Pixar axis. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, the film earned the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and demonstrated that irreverent, layered storytelling could find enormous audiences. Its cultural footprint has only grown in the decades since, cementing it as a landmark of early digital cinema.

This cell, titled Shrek and Donkey, captures the film's central duo in an outdoor rocky setting, photographed from a low angle. Across three near-identical frames, Donkey looks upward while Shrek's green head appears at the top of the composition, partially cropped in the final frame. The repeating setup reflects the rhythmic nature of 35mm sequential photography.