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 as a defiant answer to the fairy-tale formula, pairing crude humor with genuine heart and irreverent pop culture references that talked past children straight to their parents. It won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and reshaped what studio animation could look and sound like, proving that a green ogre and a wisecracking donkey could outdraw the polished princesses of the era. Its success launched a franchise and a new appetite for subverted fantasy tropes that studios chased for the next decade.
This cell isolates Lord Farquaad, the diminutive, status-obsessed ruler of Duloc whose vanity and cruelty drive much of the film's conflict. Collectors seek him out because he embodies the movie's satirical bite, a send-up of fairy-tale authority figures rendered with sharp comic precision. A single-character cell like this works almost like a credits or character-study frame, isolating the antagonist apart from the ogre and princess narrative, letting his presence stand alone as a study in petty tyranny and misplaced grandeur within the Shrek universe.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three complete 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 one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone beside it, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base carries a light cyan-blue tint typical of modern safety stock; dye image appears warm and well-saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or significant scratches are visible; the surface appears consistent with a lightly projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the content is consistent with an animated feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks combined with a variable-area optical track and cyan-tinted safety base are 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 000063248
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
