AT&T only steals from the very best

This commercial has often been compared to the classic 1956 French featurette The Red Balloon, in which a balloon forms a bond with a young boy and follows him through the streets of Paris.  Generally the comparison goes like this- "The Red Balloon was a magical,  daring, groundbreaking adventure in cinematography.  This commercial really sucks."

In fact, other than featuring a red balloon, the only thing the commercial really has in common with the film is that it feels thirty-five minutes long.  At least.