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, released theatrically as a bold counterpoint to the prevailing fairy tale formula. It became a cultural touchstone, winning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and proving that animation could be irreverent, adult-leaning in its humor, and unbeholden to traditional princess narratives. The film's success reshaped the animated landscape, spawning a franchise and cementing DreamWorks as a serious rival to Disney's storytelling dominance. Its blend of fractured fairy tale logic and pop culture wit still defines its legacy.
This cell centers on Princess Fiona, the film's reimagined heroine whose duality, both regal and unruly, made her a break from convention. Collectors seek her frames for that very subversion of the princess archetype, a character who complicates the genre she inhabits. A cell bearing her alone, without other figures sharing the frame, suggests a moment built around her individual presence, a quiet anchor point within the story's larger swirl of fairy tale mischief and reversal.
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 look clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, accompanied by what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip and a DTS timecode line running along the same edge zone.
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 modern polyester stock; the dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No scratches, splice marks or cue marks are visible in this capture.
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 film on record.
Era check
The combination of cyan-tinted polyester base, multi-format soundtrack zone (variable-area optical, Dolby Digital data blocks, and DTS timecode) 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 000063243
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
