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 fairy tale told against the grain of its own genre, pairing computer animation with a script that poked fun at Disney conventions while still delivering warmth. It won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and helped establish DreamWorks as a serious rival in the animation space, proving that a grumpy ogre and a talking donkey could carry a major studio release into pop culture permanence.
This cell holds the film's central pairing, Shrek and Donkey, the reluctant hero and the companion who talks his way into the journey. Their scenes together anchor the film's tone, mixing friction and loyalty in a way that became the movie's signature dynamic. For collectors, a frame featuring both characters together represents the heart of the film's appeal, the odd-couple chemistry that reviewers and audiences singled out. A 35mm cell from this pairing preserves a physical piece of that partnership as it was projected in theaters.
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 both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible on one edge alongside what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block pattern in the inter-perforation gaps, and a DTS timecode stripe is also visible, consistent with a multi-format release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at readable resolution.
Base & colour
The base shows a cyan-tinted clear stock; the dye image appears neutral with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible across the frame 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 content is consistent with an animated feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode stripe, and variable-area optical track 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 000063190
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
