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 as a defiant, sharp-tongued answer to the reigning fairy-tale formula. Built around a swamp-dwelling ogre voiced by Mike Myers, the film paired computer animation with pop culture wit and a soundtrack that leaned into irony rather than sentiment. It won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and reshaped what family entertainment could sound and look like, launching a franchise and a studio identity built on subverting expectation. For a generation, Shrek marked the moment animated films began speaking directly to adults as much as children.
This cell centers on Shrek himself, the character whose gruff exterior and reluctant heroism carried the entire franchise. Collectors seek him out because he is the anchor of the story, the figure whose presence alone signals the film's tone and legacy. A single-character cell like this one, drawn simply from reel and title, represents the ogre as the film's defining image, without other figures to share the frame. It stands as a piece tied purely to Shrek's own identity within 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 torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a stereo optical print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint typical of modern safety stock; the dye image reads as warm with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Faint longitudinal lines are visible running the length of the strip, consistent with projection wear through a gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the animated character visible is consistent with the DreamWorks animated feature on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, cyan-tinted polyester safety base, and dye-coupler colour image are all 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 000063235
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
