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 heart and a soundtrack that became inseparable from its identity. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it won the very first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and reshaped what family entertainment could look and sound like, proving audiences would embrace an ogre as a leading man. Its success launched a franchise and cemented computer animation as a home for satire as much as spectacle, forever changing how studios approached the genre.
This cell brings together Shrek and Princess Fiona, the two figures whose pairing gives the film its emotional center and its subversion of the traditional rescue narrative. Fiona remains one of animation's most requested heroines, prized for upending princess conventions, while Shrek stands as the reluctant hero who redefined what a fairy-tale lead could be. A 35mm cell preserving these two together captures the film's core relationship, the meeting point of its comedy and its romance, making it a natural anchor piece for anyone collecting the story's defining characters.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges, three frames visible on the strip.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and punches appear clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, and a blue DTS timecode line is also visible, indicating a tri-format optical soundtrack area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with a dyed safety base; dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated imagery is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a cyan-tinted safety base, tri-format optical soundtrack area (variable-area, Dolby Digital data blocks, and DTS timecode) 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 000063173
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
