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 answer to the fairy-tale formula, a computer-animated feature that pushed against Disney convention with a swamp-dwelling ogre as its hero. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it became a critical and commercial phenomenon, winning the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and helping establish DreamWorks as a serious rival in the animation landscape. Its blend of pop culture references, subversive humor, and genuine heart made it a defining release of its decade.
This cell preserves the DreamWorks title card, the studio's own introduction to the picture rather than a character or narrative frame. Title cards mark the threshold between the studio's identity and the story about to unfold, functioning as a signature moment collectors seek out for the way they anchor a film to its maker. For Shrek specifically, this piece represents the moment DreamWorks staked its claim as an animation powerhouse, a fitting artifact from the studio's breakout success.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Shrek (2001).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, appearing as two bilateral variable-area tracks with a blue DTS timecode stripe running beside them.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a light cyan-blue tint consistent with estar safety base stock; the dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive image; all three frames show the same title card, consistent with a release print of DreamWorks SKG's Shrek (2001).
Era check
The bilateral variable-area optical track combined with a DTS timecode stripe and cyan-tinted polyester 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 000063262
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
