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 subversive fairy tale that upended Disney conventions with fart jokes, pop culture needle drops, and a green ogre for a hero. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it became the first film to win the newly created Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, cementing DreamWorks as a genuine rival in the animation space and launching one of the most lucrative franchises in modern film history.
This cell centers on Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, whose motor mouthed sidekick energy became the film's comic backbone and one of animation's most quoted performances. Donkey material draws steady collector interest precisely because Murphy's vocal work is inseparable from the character, a rare case where casting itself became iconic. A 35mm cell preserves a physical frame of hand assembled animation from the actual theatrical print, a tangible artifact from the production pipeline rather than a reproduction, making it a direct link to the film's original release and the character's earliest screen incarnation.
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 appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible on the lower edge alongside what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip between the perforations, and a blue DTS timecode line is also visible on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base carries a light cyan-blue tint consistent with modern polyester safety stock; the dye image appears warm and well-saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same shot, running consecutively, depicting interior scene content consistent with an animated feature release print.
Era check
The combination of cyan-polyester base, 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 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 000063204
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
