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 theatrically on May 18 and later that year on home video and, eventually, 35mm collector strips drawn from theatrical printing runs. It became a cultural turning point for computer animated features, winning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and establishing a template of fairy tale parody mixed with pop culture wit. The film's success helped cement DreamWorks as a rival to Pixar and gave audiences a lasting alternative to traditional princess narratives, built instead around an ogre and his unlikely companion.
This cell centers on Shrek and Donkey together, the film's central duo and the engine of its comedy. Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, remains one of animation's most quoted sidekicks, prized by collectors for his rapid-fire chatter and loyalty to Shrek despite constant rebuff. A cell naming this pairing captures their essential dynamic, the reluctant hero and the relentless companion whose banter defines much of the film's charm and heart.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, and a blue DTS timecode line is also visible, indicating a tri-format optical soundtrack configuration.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a light cyan-blue tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image reads as warm and saturated with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices or cue marks are visible; faint longitudinal lines are present across the frames, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the first two frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, while the third frame is from a different shot; image content is consistent with an animated feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The tri-format optical soundtrack layout combining variable-area, Dolby Digital data blocks, and a DTS timecode line is consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s through 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 000063132
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
