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 as the studio's answer to the reigning fairy tale formula, and it promptly rewrote the rules. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired computer animation with a script that mocked the very genre it inhabited, earning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and setting DreamWorks apart from Disney's long shadow. Its success proved that animated films could carry adult wit alongside family appeal, and it launched a franchise that reshaped how studios approached tone, casting, and pop culture references in animation.
This cell centers on Shrek himself, the ogre whose reluctant heroism became one of animation's defining characters. Collectors seek him out because he represents the film's entire identity, a figure built to subvert expectation rather than fit the mold of a traditional protagonist. A single-subject cell like this one captures the character in isolation, the kind of frame often drawn from trailer or credit sequences meant to introduce or reintroduce him without the clutter of supporting cast. It stands as a clean record of the character who carried the picture.
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; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area waveform, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block pattern visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the animated characters and setting are consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track combined with Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks and cyan-tinted base stock 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 000063215
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
