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 animated features. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired big studio polish with a script that mocked fairy tale convention rather than repeating it. Its success at the box office and at the newly created Academy Award for Best Animated Feature marked a turning point, proving irreverence and genuine heart could coexist and setting the template for a franchise that still endures.
This cell brings together the trio at the center of that story: Shrek, the ogre reluctant to fit anyone's expectations, Donkey, his relentless and loyal companion, and Princess Fiona, whose own secret complicates every fairy tale assumption. Grouping all three together points to the film's central dynamic, the found family formed across the journey. For collectors, a piece uniting these characters holds particular value, since it distills the picture's core relationships into a single frame rather than isolating one figure alone.
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 each edge; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip visible in the inter-perforation zone on the opposite edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows full colour saturation with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Fine horizontal lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot and the animated characters visible are consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and fully saturated colour positive 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 000063222
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
