Shrek arrived from DreamWorks Animation in 2001, a fairy tale turned inside out at the height of the studio's rivalry with Pixar and Disney. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, it paired irreverent humor with genuine warmth, earning the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and reshaping what mainstream animation could look like on screen. Its marketing campaign, built around trailers that promised something different from the usual princess fare, helped introduce audiences to a swamp-dwelling ogre who would become a cultural fixture.
This cell preserves the end card from that original trailer, the closing frame meant to leave the release date and studio branding fixed in the viewer's mind. Trailer ephemera like this holds a particular appeal for collectors, marking the exact moment a new franchise announced itself to the public. As a piece of film history, it represents not the feature itself but the promise of it, the last image before the lights came up and audiences went looking for opening day.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release trailer print of Shrek (2001)
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three complete frames
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track format; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge
Edge print
Not fully legible at this capture resolution; partial text consistent with DreamWorks and copyright line visible along lower edge
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a safety polyester stock; dye image reads as neutral with strong colour saturation
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks seen in this capture
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same held title-card frame from a theatrical trailer, matching the Shrek 2001 release record
Era check
The combination of polyester base, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, and the 2001 copyright text is consistent with a theatrical release print from that period
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 000063266
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
