Shrek Has Been Inducted Into The US National Film Registry For Being 'Culturally Significant'

The 2001 animated movie Shrek movie has been inducted into America's National Film Registry in the Library of Congress.

The registry is a list of the most 'culturally, historically or aesthetically' significant films of all time.

A read-through of the lengthy registry will show movies that have won Academy Awards, created national or international discussions on sensitive topics, or have simply been beloved by billions of people.

Enduring cinematic classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, 12 Angry Men, Ben-Hur and Lawrence of Arabia all feature on the list and now it appears that Shrek has been deemed to be just as good.

There were 25 films added in 2020 to the registry, with Shrek being accompanied by Grease, The Blues Brothers, A Clockwork Orange, The Hurt Locker and The Dark Knight.

Shrek follows a green ogre named - conveniently - Shrek, voiced by Wayne's World and Austin Powers actor Mike Myers.

The green guy is encouraged to go on a death-defying mission to rescue a princess, encountering a multitude of recognisable fairytale characters along the way.

Myers is joined by an all-star voice cast of Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow, and the film has spawned two sequels, two short films and a spin-off flick.

In order for a film to be considered for the canon, it has to be at least 10 years old, although it doesn't have to be feature-length and doesn't have to have been played in theatres.

When the registry was first set up in 1989, there were more than 1,000 public submissions for the list. Incredibly, for the 2020 additions, there were more than 5,500 submissions.

The 25 movies that have been added to the list this year 'include a record number of films directed by women and filmmakers of colour, including nine directed by women and seven by people of colour'.

The current librarian for the Library of Congress, Carla Hayden, said in a statement: "With the inclusion of diverse filmmakers, we are not trying to set records but rather to set the record straight by spotlighting the astonishing contributions women and people of colour have made to American cinema, despite facing often-overwhelming hurdles."

Featured Image Credit: Dreamworks

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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