2001: A Space Odyssey influenced WALL-E

Andrew Stanton has discussed the debt directly, and the film quotes it twice without disguise:

• The Axiom's autopilot turns on the crew exactly as HAL does, down to the single red eye
• Also sprach Zarathustra plays as the captain stands upright for the first time
• The first act is nearly wordless, which Stanton has attributed to watching silent film and 2001