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 and reshaped what audiences expected from a fairy tale. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired irreverent humor with genuine heart, poking fun at Disney conventions while building its own beloved mythology. The film won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, launched a franchise that would span sequels, spinoffs, and a stage musical, and cemented Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz as the voices behind a new kind of animated classic, one that appealed to children and adults alike with equal force.
This cell captures the interrogation scene between Lord Farquaad, the diminutive and tyrannical ruler of Duloc, and the Gingerbread Man, one of the film's most quotable fairy tale exiles. Farquaad remains a favorite among collectors for his petty authoritarian streak and his role as the story's central antagonist, while the Gingerbread Man's defiance in this exchange gave the film one of its most quoted lines. As a 35mm frame from this exact confrontation, it preserves a foundational piece of the film's comic and narrative architecture.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip running alongside it in the inter-perforation zone.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows rich, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks observed.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with an animated feature matching Shrek (2001).
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track combined with Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the 2001 release date of the film 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 000063189
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
