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 turned inside out at a moment when computer animation was still proving itself against Pixar's early run. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it took the genre's clean-cut heroes and swapped them for an ogre, a talking donkey, and a soundtrack full of pop irreverence. It won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and reshaped what family films could sound and look like, setting DreamWorks apart from Disney's house style for the next decade.
This cell carries Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, the motormouthed sidekick whose chatter and loyalty anchor the film's comic engine. Collectors seek him out because his performance became the film's breakout voice, the character audiences quote as often as they quote Shrek himself. A 35mm cell under his name preserves a frame of that presence, a physical trace of the character mid-story rather than a posed studio still, tying the reel to the actual theatrical print that carried Murphy's delivery into cinemas in 2001.
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 complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
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, consistent with a multi-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a cyan-tinted clear stock typical of modern safety polyester; the dye image appears neutral with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or significant scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot and the computer-animated imagery is consistent with the animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of cyan polyester base, multi-format optical soundtrack (variable-area plus Dolby Digital data blocks), and positive colour print 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 000063207
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
