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
FILM NOTES
Shrek arrived from DreamWorks Animation in 2001, a fairy-tale spoof that upended the Disney playbook and became one of the studio's defining releases. Built on irreverence and pop-culture wit, it won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and reshaped what mainstream animated comedy could look like, pairing genuine sentiment with a willingness to poke fun at genre conventions.
This cell preserves a 35mm frame of Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, the motormouthed companion whose energy became one of the film's most quoted comic engines. Donkey remains a favorite among collectors precisely because the performance carries so much of the picture's humor and heart, a sidekick whose presence defines the buddy dynamic at the story's center. A 35mm cell like this comes from the physical film print itself, a tangible artifact of the movie's theatrical run rather than a promotional reproduction, making it a direct link to Shrek as it was originally projected.
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 with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block pattern visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge, consistent with a dual-format optical release.
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 appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is 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 CGI animated character visible is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The cyan-tinted polyester safety base, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, and CGI-sourced positive 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 000063150
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
