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 quickly recognized as a turning point for the studio and for animated features generally. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it upended fairy tale convention with its irreverent humor and pop culture asides, and went on to win the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Its success established DreamWorks as a genuine rival to Pixar and helped define a new era of computer animated storytelling built on wit rather than pure sentiment.
This cell preserves Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, whose motormouth energy became the film's comedic backbone and one of animation's most quoted sidekicks. Collectors seek Donkey material for that vocal performance and the character's enduring pop culture presence. A cell simply marked Donkey, without further scene description, functions as a straightforward character study, isolating him from Shrek and Fiona to spotlight his own screen identity within the 35mm print, a reminder of the physical film stock behind the digital legend.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001)
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with rounded rectangular shape and no visible tearing
Soundtrack
A blue-tinted band runs along the lower edge area consistent with a Dolby Digital data-block region between perforations, alongside what appears to be a variable-area optical track; a DTS timecode line also appears visible as a dashed line along the lower strip
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers
Base & colour
Base carries a light cyan-blue tint consistent with a colour release print; dye image appears neutral with no obvious red shift or fading
Projection history
Light horizontal abrasion lines 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 from the same continuous shot and the animated CG imagery is consistent with the film on record
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode stripe, and cyan-tinted polyester base 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 000063148
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
