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 as a defiant answer to the fairy tales it borrowed from, pairing crude humor with genuine warmth. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it became a cultural landmark, winning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and proving computer animation could carry irony, romance, and pop culture references aimed as much at adults as children. Its success reshaped family entertainment for the decade that followed, launching a franchise built on subverting expectations while still delivering heart.
This cell places Shrek within his swamp, the setting that defines him before the story ever asks him to leave it. Collectors prize this pairing because the swamp is Shrek's chosen solitude, the space that establishes his character as ogre first, hero second. A frame like this belongs to the film's early scenes, where home and identity are inseparable, long before the quest begins. For those assembling character studies, it represents Shrek in his truest state, undisturbed and self contained.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge, evenly spaced and cleanly punched; bottom-edge perforations are also visible and appear evenly spaced.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual-bilateral (two-track) white band; a blue Dolby Digital data block stripe is also visible in the inter-perforation zone on the bottom edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base appears with a light cyan-blue tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image reads as warm and fully saturated with no visible fading.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks or cue marks seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Shrek (2001).
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the 2001 release date of the film 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 000063137
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
