Based on interviews with Chomsky over several months, Gondry decided that, since the interviews were mainly audio only, he would animate much of the film. This is not only in keeping with his own sense of playfulness, but also Chomsky's incredibly sharp and wide-ranging analyses on topics from US foreign policy to social psychology.
It looks and sounds like the film is a learning project for Gondry as much as a documentary unto itself, a leaning curve of understanding such a keen intellectual mind. It's also good to see in contrast to the typical biopic or documentary filled with talking head(s). And animation might be the perfect way to talk about a subject as strange and somewhat difficult as linguistics, which was apparently the main topics of conversation between the two men.
No word yet on a general release, either theatrical or VOD. But any new Gondry is good Gondry.