National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

DreamWorks Animation released Shrek in May 2001, marking a turning point for computer-generated feature filmmaking and offering a sharp, self-aware counterpoint to the fairy-tale conventions Disney had long defined. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, the film became a cultural touchstone and the inaugural winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, cementing DreamWorks as a serious force in animation.

This 35mm cell captures Donkey in three consecutive frames from what appears to be a single continuous shot, placing him among dense foliage and tall wooden stakes against a deep blue background consistent with the environs of Shrek's swamp. The sequence offers a quiet, atmospheric glimpse of the character in his natural narrative habitat, preserved here in the original photochemical format in which the film was theatrically distributed.