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 (2001) arrived from DreamWorks Animation as a genre-tweaking fairy tale that upended Disney conventions while still working as a mainstream family film. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it became a critical and commercial success, winning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and launching a franchise that reshaped how animated studios approached humor, casting, and pop culture references. Its blend of irreverence and sincerity, alongside its landmark CGI work, cemented its place as one of the defining animated films of its decade.
This cell centers on Shrek himself, the ogre protagonist whose gruff exterior and reluctant heroism made him an instantly iconic character and a perennial favorite among collectors of animation memorabilia. His pairing here with Snow White places this frame within the film's larger tapestry of fairy tale references, where classic storybook figures populate Shrek's world in subverted, comedic form. Such a moment reflects the film's signature technique of juxtaposing established fantasy icons with its unconventional lead, a hallmark of the movie's satirical charm and a frequent focus of frame collecting.
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 look clean throughout the visible strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible on one edge, accompanied by a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation area and what appears to be a DTS timecode line adjacent to the optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a light blue-cyan tint consistent with a dyed safety base stock; the dye image reads as warm amber-brown with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the rendered animated imagery is consistent with the DreamWorks animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of cyan-tinted safety base, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode line, and 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 000063145
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
