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 send-up that upended a decade of Disney-style storytelling with irreverence and pop-culture wit. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it became a critical and commercial landmark, winning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and helping establish DreamWorks as a genuine rival in animation. Its blend of crude humor, sincere heart, and needle-drop soundtrack made it a defining piece of early-2000s pop cinema, spawning sequels, spinoffs, and a lasting franchise legacy.
This cell isolates Donkey, the ogre's chatty, loyal companion voiced by Eddie Murphy, one of the most quoted and merchandised sidekicks in animated film history. Collectors seek Donkey material for the character's outsized presence in the film's comedic engine and cultural footprint, often rivaling the leads in popularity. A single-character 35mm cell like this represents a physical fragment of the film's actual theatrical print, a tactile artifact tying directly back to Donkey's screen presence within the story's fabric.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the lower edge, accompanied by what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip and a DTS timecode line, consistent with a multi-format release print.
Edge print
Not clearly legible in this capture; no key numbers or manufacturer text can be read with confidence.
Base & colour
The base carries a light cyan-blue tint typical of modern safety stock; the dye image appears warm-toned with no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks or significant scratching are apparent at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, and the animated content is consistent with the CGI feature on record.
Era check
The multi-format soundtrack combination (variable-area optical, Dolby Digital data blocks, and DTS timecode) is consistent with a major studio 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 000063206
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
