“I think animated movies are dead,” declares Sébastien Laudenbach. It’s quite the statement from the celebrated filmmaker and illustrator, whose 2023 movie Chicken for Linda! won him a César Award. He’s catching up with The Hollywood Reporter before the premiere of his latest feature, Viva Carmen — inspired by Georges Bizet’s beloved opera — hypnotizes the Croisette with its sun-dappled, spirited animation and imaginative storytelling. To clarify his point, the festival regular must cite his mother tongue. “In French, it’s the same word to say [you are] finishing something and killing something. It’s very strong,” Laudenbach says. “I’m moved by unfinished drawings, by unfinished sketches. When something is totally finished, it can be beautiful, but it can be dead, as well.” So, in the case of Viva Carmen , Laudenbach’s objective was clear: “To not finish the movie.” You wouldn’t know the film is, according to its director, incomplete.…