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 reshaped the fairy tale for a new generation. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired irreverent humor with genuine warmth, poking fun at Disney conventions while telling its own story of an ogre finding unlikely companionship. The film's box office success and Academy Award win for Best Animated Feature marked a turning point for the studio, establishing a franchise and a comic sensibility that influenced animated films for years afterward.
This 35mm cell preserves a frame built around the Dragon, the fire breathing guardian of Fiona's tower and one of the film's memorable supporting figures. Collectors seek out Dragon material for its role in the story's midpoint, where danger and comedy intertwine before Donkey's unexpected rapport shifts the tone entirely. As a physical film artifact, this cell represents a single excised frame from the release print, a tangible fragment of the reel that once ran through theater projectors during the picture's original run.
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 throughout the visible strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip and a DTS timecode line also present between the perforations and the picture area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight cyan-blue tint consistent with modern safety stock; the dye image appears fully saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are seen on this strip.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated character and environment are consistent with the CGI animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of a multi-format optical soundtrack area (variable-area, Dolby Digital, DTS timecode) on a cyan-base safety stock 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 000063180
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
