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 in 2001 as a turning point for animated features, pairing computer animation with a fairy tale skewed toward adult wit. It won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and helped establish DreamWorks Animation as a genuine rival to Pixar and Disney, proving that animated films could carry irreverence, pop culture references, and box office muscle in equal measure. Its success reshaped the genre for the decade that followed.
This cell centers on Princess Fiona and the Dragon, two figures whose pairing forms one of the film's most memorable narrative turns. The Dragon guards Fiona's tower, a role collectors prize for how it upends expectations of both damsel and monster within the story. A cell naming these two together points to a pivotal segment of footage from that sequence, preserved as a physical artifact of the animation reel rather than a promotional still, making it a tangible link to that portion of the film's original release print.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital optical 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 running along the lower edge beside the picture, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area (stereo) track; a thin Dolby Digital data-block strip is also discernible in the inter-perforation zone on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base carries a faint cyan-blue tint consistent with a modern polyester safety base; dye image colours appear saturated and not visibly faded or red-shifted.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks or heavy scratching are apparent; the surface appears consistent with a projected release print.
Picture
Positive colour image; the first two frames appear to be consecutive frames of the same shot, and the third frame is a different shot; imagery is consistent with an animated feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a polyester cyan-tinted base, dual bilateral variable-area optical track, and Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a 35mm 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 000063182
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
