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 in 2001 as DreamWorks Animation's decisive break from Disney convention, a computer animated feature that mocked fairy tale tropes even as it indulged them. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired Mike Myers' ogre with Eddie Murphy's Donkey and became a cultural phenomenon, winning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and spawning a franchise that redefined family entertainment for the decade. Its blend of pop soundtrack needle drops, adult humor, and genuine sentiment set a template countless studios would chase.
This cell preserves the opening credits sequence, the moment before Shrek proper begins, where the film announces itself and establishes tone before a single line of dialogue. Title card cells like this hold particular appeal for collectors because they mark origin rather than incident, the frame where a studio's logo gives way to the story's own identity. For a film whose cultural footprint rests so heavily on subverting expectation, owning the card that opens that subversion carries its own quiet weight among 35mm print collectors.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
Not visible in this capture; the lower portion of the strip shows coloured bands but no resolvable optical track or data block pattern.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture; no legible key numbers, manufacturer text, or SAFETY FILM legend can be read.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight blue-cyan tint at the edges; the image area is rendered in deep black with yellow title graphics, showing no obvious colour shift or fading.
Projection history
No scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive image; all three frames show the same static title card, consistent with a title sequence from the film on record.
Era check
A 35mm positive print carrying a title card matching a 2001 DreamWorks animated theatrical release is consistent with a first-run or early release print of Shrek (2001).
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 000063256
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
