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 in 2001 from DreamWorks Animation, a fledgling rival to Disney's long dominance in feature animation. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it upended fairy tale convention with irreverence, pop culture asides, and a swamp-dwelling ogre as its unlikely hero. The film won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and became a cultural touchstone, spawning a franchise that reshaped how studios approached family entertainment, blending genuine sentiment with comedic subversion aimed as much at parents as children.
This cell holds Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, the motormouthed companion whose rapid-fire delivery and unwavering loyalty became one of the film's defining comic engines. Collectors prize Donkey material because the character's chemistry with Shrek anchors much of the film's humor and heart, making any frame tied to him a piece of the buddy dynamic audiences remember most. As a 35mm cell, this fragment preserves an actual segment of the film's release print, a physical relic of the theatrical run that introduced this voice and character to millions.
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, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A blue-tinted band runs along the lower edge between the perforations and the picture area, consistent in appearance with a Dolby Digital data-block strip; a variable-area optical track also appears visible as a narrow band with modulated waveform lines adjacent to the picture on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base shows a light cyan-blue tint typical of modern safety stock; dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
Faint horizontal lines are visible across the lower portion of the strip, consistent with light projection wear.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the computer-animated imagery is consistent with Shrek (2001).
Era check
The cyan-tinted polyester base, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and optical track combination are 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 000063208
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
