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 conventions Disney had spent decades polishing. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired sly pop culture humor with genuine warmth, earning the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and reshaping what family films could sound and look like. Its irreverence toward princesses, castles, and happy endings made it a cultural touchstone, and its box office success proved audiences wanted heart wrapped in sarcasm rather than saccharine polish.
This cell centers on Shrek himself, the ogre whose swamp-dwelling solitude and gruff exterior became one of animation's most beloved contradictions. Collectors seek him out because he anchors the franchise, embodying the film's core joke and its quiet sincerity in equal measure. A single-character cell like this one distills the story to its source, the figure whose perspective the entire fairy tale is filtered through. Whether drawn from a key sequence or a promotional frame, it preserves a moment tied directly to the character who redefined what an animated lead could be.
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 running along the lower edge beside the picture area, appearing as a two-track variable-area stripe; a dense blue-coded stripe consistent with a Dolby Digital data block is also visible in the inter-perforation zone on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-blue tint consistent with a modern safety stock; the dye image reads warm-yellow with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal abrasion lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the animated character visible is consistent with the CGI animated feature on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, cyan-tinted safety base, and positive colour print 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 000063254
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
