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 just as computer animation was overtaking hand drawn features and reshaping the family film market. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it took the fairy tale conventions Disney had built for decades and turned them inside out, pairing an ogre hero with a wisecracking donkey and a cast of storybook characters played for subversion rather than reverence. The film won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and became a cultural touchstone, spawning a franchise and cementing DreamWorks as a serious rival in the animation space.
This cell brings together Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, characters borrowed directly from the classic fairy tale and repurposed here as part of Shrek's crowded fairy tale world. Snow White remains one of the most recognized fairy tale figures ever put on film, and her presence alongside her seven companions makes this a strong crossover piece for collectors who chase both Disney lore and its parody. As a 35mm frame, it preserves a fixed moment from that ensemble appearance, a small physical artifact of how Shrek folded familiar storybook faces into its own irreverent universe.
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; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, accompanied by what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip between the perforations on the same edge, and a DTS timecode line is also discernible, consistent with a tri-format release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a light cyan-blue tint typical of modern safety stock; the dye image reads as warm-amber with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices or cue marks are visible; faint longitudinal lines consistent with projector gate contact are present, indicating the print has been run through a projector.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the animated characters visible are consistent with the DreamWorks animated feature Shrek (2001).
Era check
The tri-format soundtrack configuration (variable-area optical, Dolby Digital data blocks, DTS timecode), cyan-base safety stock, and warm dye image are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s.
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 000063140
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
