National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

DreamWorks Animation released Shrek in May 2001, marking a turning point in computer-animated filmmaking and signaling a genuine challenge to Disney's long dominance of the genre. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, the film earned the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and became a defining cultural touchstone of the early 2000s. Its irreverent humor and layered storytelling gave it a reach well beyond its family audience.

This cell, titled Fiona and Shrek, captures the two central characters together in the film's swamp setting, with Donkey present in the scene. The lush outdoor environment, open water, and wooden dock visible in the frames place this moment within the quieter, more grounded passages of the story, where the relationship between Shrek and Fiona begins to take shape.