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 in 2001 and reshaped animated features almost overnight. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired a subversive, pop culture savvy script with a fairy tale premise, earning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and proving that computer animation could carry irony, romance, and genuine heart in equal measure. Its cast, led by Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy, became inseparable from the roles.
This cell centers on Donkey, the endlessly talkative companion whose loyalty and comic timing anchor the film's emotional core alongside Shrek and Fiona. Collectors seek Donkey material for the character's crossover appeal, spanning family audiences and animation historians alike. A 35mm cell from this era preserves a physical frame of the original theatrical print, a tactile artifact from the moment traditional celluloid handling intersected with digital animation history, marking the ensemble that carried the story forward.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible 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 along the bottom edge, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern, with a blue DTS timecode stripe also visible adjacent to it.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image presents warm amber and deep shadow tones with no obvious fading or colour shift.
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, consistent with an action sequence from an animated feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track combined with a DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the 2001 release date of the film 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 000063241
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
