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 as a defiant answer to the fairy-tale formula, pairing sly humor with genuine warmth and a soundtrack that became inseparable from the film's identity. It won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, cementing DreamWorks as a serious rival to Pixar and Disney. The film's success came from subverting expectations: the ogre was the hero, the princess had her own secrets, and pop culture references sat comfortably beside sincere storytelling. It remains a touchstone of early 2000s animation, remembered for reshaping what an animated feature could be commercially and creatively.
This cell centers on Shrek himself, the character whose name carried the franchise into cultural permanence. Collectors seek him out because he anchors the film's tone from the outset, an ogre defined by gruff independence rather than villainy. A cell bearing simply his name suggests an introductory or defining frame, the kind used to establish character before plot complicates things. Whether drawn from opening scenes or promotional material, this type of cell represents the character in his purest form, unaccompanied and unfiltered, a foundational piece for any collection built around the film's original theatrical run.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm 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 edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, accompanied by what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block strip and a DTS timecode line running along the lower edge band.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a cyan-tinted safety stock appearance consistent with modern polyester release print 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 subject is consistent with the animated characters of the film on record.
Era check
The combination of cyan-base polyester stock, variable-area optical track with Dolby Digital data blocks and DTS timecode is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the 2001 release of the film 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 000063253
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
