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, a computer-animated feature that upended fairy-tale convention and became a defining title of its era. Built on William Steig's storybook and voiced by a cast led by Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, it paired irreverent humor with genuine warmth, won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and launched a franchise that reshaped how studios approached family entertainment for the following two decades.
This 35mm cell preserves a frame of the Dragon, the fire-breathing guardian of the castle who stands among the film's most memorable supporting figures, a formidable presence whose scenes with Donkey helped cement the character's popularity with audiences. Collectors seek out Dragon material for its scarcity relative to the film's leads and for the character's outsized role in the story's turning points. As a single-subject cell, it offers a focused, self-contained piece of the production, a tangible link to one of animation's most celebrated supporting characters and to the reel history of an early digital landmark.
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 appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge, with what appears to be a separate blue-tinted DTS timecode stripe adjacent to it.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base appears to carry a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a dye-transfer or modern polyester print stock; the dye image reads as warm-toned with strong saturation.
Projection history
Faint horizontal lines are visible across the soundtrack 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 animated character visible is consistent with the DreamWorks animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, a DTS timecode stripe, and a polyester base with this colour profile 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 000063179
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
