Well, producers have attempted to address point two with a new version of the film which runs thirty six minutes shorter and is described as playing as a 'looser adaptation' that doesn't require advance knowledge of the story. According to a press release circulated in Australia and broken by Dark Horizons, this will now be the version of the film screened in all countries outside of France.
What nobody seems to know at this point was how involved Gondry himself was in this new version which leaves a whole lot of questions about whether this should be viewed as outside forces forcing changes, as just happened with Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer, or whether this is Gondry and the producers recognizing an issue with the first version of the film and taking steps to correct it.