I watched this legendary short film a few months ago—I thought I'd seen it before, but evidently just felt like I had via references in The Simpsons, German 80s pop, and the forthcoming Pixar film Up, which in some ways begins with The Red Balloon's (to my mind mildly disturbing) closing scene. Fun fact: TRB is the only dialogue-free film to have won the Oscar for best original screenplay.