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 that spring, and quickly became a cultural marker for the studio and for animation itself. It won the first Academy Award ever given for Best Animated Feature, a category created in part because of the film's success and ambition. Its irreverent tone, layered humor for adults and children alike, and refusal to follow traditional fairy tale conventions set it apart from its contemporaries. The film's soundtrack, voice performances, and box office results cemented its status as a defining release of the early 2000s, and its cultural footprint has only grown in the decades since.
This cell preserves a moment featuring Princess Fiona, one of the film's central figures and a favorite among collectors for her unconventional role within the fairy tale framework the movie both honors and subverts. Fiona's presence in a single frame of 35mm film represents a physical fragment of the movie's original theatrical print, a tangible piece of the print run that once passed through projectors nationwide. For collectors, isolating a named character like Fiona in an individual cell offers a focused connection to her part in the story, distinct from group shots or ensemble sequences, making this a piece valued for its clear attribution to her alone.
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 below the picture area on the lower edge, accompanied by what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip running between the perforations on the lower edge.
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 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 setting are consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The cyan-tinted polyester safety base, variable-area optical track, and Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations 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 000063244
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
