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 and reshaped what audiences expected from a family film. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it took the fairy tale template and turned it inside out, pairing an ogre lead with a talking donkey and a princess who defied the genre's usual passivity. It won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and became a cultural touchstone, spawning sequels, merchandising, and a permanent place in animation history for its irreverence and heart.
This cell brings together the film's three central figures: Shrek, the reluctant hero whose gruffness hides genuine warmth; Donkey, the relentless chatterbox whose loyalty defines the story's comic engine; and Princess Fiona, whose arc redefines the fairy tale heroine. Grouping all three in a single cell makes it a natural centerpiece for collectors, since it captures the core trio rather than an isolated character. A frame like this speaks to the film's found-family dynamic, the unlikely alliance that carries the entire narrative forward.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, 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 soundtrack is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone on the same edge; a blue DTS timecode line is also visible along that edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote characters.
Base & colour
The base shows a light blue-cyan tint consistent with a dye-based colour print stock; the dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot and the animated characters visible are consistent with the DreamWorks animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode line, and cyan-base colour stock 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 000063221
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
