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 and redefined what an animated feature could be, pairing fairy tale mischief with a knowing modern voice. It became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, a box office phenomenon, and a cultural touchstone that launched a long-running franchise. Its success proved that computer animation could carry adult humor alongside family entertainment, cementing DreamWorks as a serious rival to Pixar and reshaping the animation landscape for the decade that followed.
This 35mm cell pairs Shrek, the gruff yet good-hearted ogre who anchors the film's subversion of fairy tale tropes, with Donkey, his relentlessly chatty companion whose comic timing became one of the film's signature pleasures. Together they represent the central friendship that drives the entire story, the odd-couple dynamic collectors prize most from this release. A cell featuring both characters together is a natural anchor piece for anyone building a Shrek collection, capturing the pairing that defined the franchise's tone from its earliest scenes onward.
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 visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip and a DTS timecode line also present between the perforations on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not clearly legible in this capture; faint markings appear along the lower edge but cannot be quoted with certainty.
Base & colour
Base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with modern colour print stock; dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices or cue marks are visible; minor surface reflections are present but no scratches or heavy projection wear are apparent.
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 combination of cyan-tinted base, variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital data blocks, and DTS timecode line 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 000063251
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
