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 as a genre-bending fairy tale that upended Disney conventions with pop culture wit, a soundtrack full of needle drops, and a green ogre hero who preferred solitude to sainthood. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and became a cultural touchstone, spawning sequels, spin-offs, and a franchise that redefined how animated films could speak to both children and adults. Its blend of irreverence and heart still shapes the studio's identity today.
This cell preserves Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, the motormouthed companion whose chatter and loyalty give the story its comic engine and emotional counterweight to Shrek's gruffness. Collectors seek Donkey material because the performance is inseparable from Murphy's delivery, one of the most quoted vocal turns in modern animation. A cell like this, drawn from 35mm printing stock, represents the physical film history behind the character rather than a digital reissue, offering a tangible link to the picture's original theatrical run and Donkey's earliest screen presence.
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, evenly spaced and cleanly punched with no visible torn or deformed holes.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible on one edge, alongside what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip between the perforations on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a thin dashed line.
Edge print
Not fully legible in this capture; partial characters are visible along the lower edge but cannot be reliably quoted.
Base & colour
The base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears warm and well-saturated with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frames, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the visual content is consistent with an animated feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital data blocks, DTS timecode, variable-area optical track, and cyan-base colour stock 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 000063205
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
