National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

DreamWorks Animation released Shrek in May 2001, marking a turning point in computer-animated filmmaking. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, the film challenged Disney's dominance in family animation and became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Its irreverent humor and technical ambition made it a cultural landmark of the early 2000s.

This 35mm cell, titled Donkey - Shrek, captures an intimate exchange between the film's two central characters. Three frames present extreme close-ups in rapid succession: Donkey's large, expressive eye filling the frame, followed by two tight shots of Shrek's green face angled downward. The sequence distills the unlikely dynamic between these two characters into pure, wordless proximity.