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-tale formula, pairing irreverent humor with genuine warmth. It won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and helped establish DreamWorks as a serious rival to Pixar and Disney, proving that animation could poke fun at genre conventions while still delivering heart. Its cultural footprint has only grown since, spawning sequels, spinoffs, and a permanent place in pop culture shorthand.
This cell brings together Shrek and Princess Fiona, the film's central pairing and the emotional core of the story. Shrek, the ogre who upends expectations of what a fairy-tale hero looks like, remains one of animation's most collected characters, while Fiona represents the era's shift toward more complicated, self-possessed princesses. A frame preserving the two of them together speaks to the heart of the film's romance, the unlikely bond that drives its narrative forward. For collectors, this pairing is the emblem of the whole franchise.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced; punched holes appear clean and regularly shaped with no visible tearing.
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
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a dye-coupler colour print stock; dye image appears neutral with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks or significant scratching are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with an animated feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital data blocks, DTS timecode, and variable-area optical track on a colour positive print 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 000063147
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
