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 computer animated features. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it took the fairy tale template and turned it inward, pairing crude humor with genuine warmth and a soundtrack that became inseparable from its identity. The film won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, a milestone that legitimized the format as more than a children's genre. Its success launched a franchise and cemented DreamWorks as a serious rival to Pixar, proving that irreverence and sincerity could coexist within the same story.
This cell brings together the trio at the heart of the franchise: Shrek, the ogre reluctant to be a hero, Donkey, his relentless companion, and Princess Fiona, whose arc redefined the genre's idea of a princess. Collectors prize material featuring all three together since it represents the film's central dynamic and the chemistry that carried the series forward. A frame grouping this ensemble reflects the partnership and banter that made the story resonate beyond its parody roots.
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 on one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone on the same edge, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote characters reliably.
Base & colour
The base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with a dye-incorporated colour print stock; the dye image appears fully saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to run consecutively within a single shot, and the animated characters visible are consistent with the DreamWorks animated feature Shrek (2001).
Era check
The combination of cyan-tinted base stock, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, and fully saturated dye image is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s.
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 000063225
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
