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, a fairy tale told with a wink, pairing computer animation with a soundtrack and script built for adults as much as children. It won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and helped establish DreamWorks as a serious rival to Pixar and Disney, proving that animated films could subvert genre conventions while still finding mainstream box office success. Its irreverent humor and pop culture references reshaped the animated comedy landscape for years to come.
This cell belongs to Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, whose motormouth energy and comic timing became inseparable from the character's identity. Collectors seek him out because he represents the film's comedic engine, the sidekick whose chatter and heart carry much of Shrek's emotional and comic weight. A 35mm cell like this one preserves a physical fragment of that performance, a single frame pulled from the animation stock itself, tying the finished film back to its analog origins before digital projection became standard.
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, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or deformation.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip running in the inter-perforation gap beside it, and a blue DTS timecode line is also visible at the inner edge of the soundtrack area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with modern polyester safety stock; the 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 character and environment are consistent with the CGI animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of polyester base, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode stripe, and variable-area optical track 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 000063226
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
