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 defining shift in the animated feature landscape, released theatrically to widespread acclaim and box office success. It became the first film to win the newly created Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, distinguishing itself with a subversive tone that poked fun at fairy tale conventions while still delivering genuine warmth. Its blend of pop culture references, irreverent humor, and unlikely heroism reshaped what family entertainment could look like, paving the way for a franchise and a new era of animation that balanced spectacle with wit.
This cell brings together Shrek, the ogre protagonist whose gruff exterior hides a soft heart, and the Big Bad Wolf, one of the fairy tale exiles who takes refuge in the swamp. Their pairing reflects the film's central conceit, that displaced storybook characters find community and chaos alongside its reluctant hero. Collectors prize frames featuring these two because they capture the film's foundational joke, familiar folklore figures recontextualized within Shrek's world. A 35mm cell like this preserves a physical fragment of that reinvention, a tangible piece of the animation history the film helped create.
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; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital pixel-block data strip occupying the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a fine dashed line along that edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a dyed safety base; the dye image reads warm amber-orange with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has been projected.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same shot with no cut between them, and the animated character and environment are consistent with the DreamWorks animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and DTS timecode line 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 000063166
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
