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 (2001) arrived from DreamWorks Animation as a genre-defining release, reshaping animated features with its irreverent humor, fairy tale subversion, and landmark Academy Award win for Best Animated Feature, the category's inaugural year. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired computer animation with a soundtrack and script that appealed as much to adults as children, launching a franchise and cementing DreamWorks as a rival to Pixar in the animation landscape. Its blend of pop culture references and heartfelt storytelling made it a cultural touchstone of early 2000s cinema.
This cell centers on Donkey and Shrek, the film's defining pair, whose mismatched dynamic drives much of the story's comedy and warmth. Donkey, voiced with relentless energy, became one of animation's most quoted sidekicks, while Shrek's gruff exterior grounds their exchanges in unlikely friendship. A 35mm cell featuring these two together captures the core relationship collectors seek, a physical artifact from the reels that carried this partnership to audiences, preserving a fragment of the print that helped define the film's enduring appeal.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a narrow light-modulated stripe; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a Dolby Digital SR print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a light blue-cyan tint consistent with a dyed safety base stock; the dye image reads as warm yellow-green with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible running parallel to the film length, consistent with projection wear through a gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot and the green-skinned animated character visible is consistent with the DreamWorks animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track with Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks and a blue-tinted safety base 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 000063252
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
