SpongeBob and Patrick and the Furry Encounters

SpongeBob and Patrick and the Furry Encounters is a 2030 American computer-animated adventure science fiction comedy film based on SpongeBob SquarePants. Produced by Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, United Plankton Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is a direct sequel to The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020) and the fifth film in the Nicktoons Cinematic Series. The film was directed by Paul Tibbitt, with the screenplay by Andrew Goodman, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, and stars Tom Kenny, Bill Fagarbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, and Carolyn Lawrence reprising their roles from the earlier films, alongside Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as Princess Mindy from the first film; Tom Hardy, Michael Keaton, Sylvester Stallone, Jordan Peele, and Keegan-Michael Key voice the characters in this film. In the film, Patrick proposes to Mindy after a long relationship while his best friend SpongeBob wants to keep him in the status quo, but their wedding is interrupted by a race of a feline alien race abducting Patrick as they see him as the ancient star child "Patricius".

SpongeBob and Patrick and the Furry Encounters premiered in Hollywood on August 27, 2030 and was released in the United States on September 27, 2030. The film received positive reviews from critics with praise towards Fagerbakke's performance as Patrick, animation, themes, and tone. Many reviewers considered it as one of the best films in the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise. It grossed $389 million worldwide against an $80 million production budget.

Voice cast
The Cyclops and Dennis from the first film and King Poseidon from Sponge on the Run appear in flashbacks. Otto makes a brief appearance in a newspaper.
 * Tom Kenny as:
 * SpongeBob SquarePants
 * Gary the Snail
 * French Narrator
 * Bill Fagarbakke as:
 * Patrick Star
 * Rocky II
 * Herb Star
 * Tom Hardy as Commander Twinkles
 * Michael Keaton as Purrsen
 * Sylvester Stallone as Commander Grant White
 * Jordan Peele as Lieutenant Hal Halibut
 * Keegan-Michael Key as Major Red Herring
 * Scarlett Johansson as Princess Mindy
 * Jeffery Tambor as King Neptune XV
 * Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks
 * Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles
 * Clancy Brown as Eugene Krabs
 * Doug Lawrence as Sheldon Plankton
 * Jill Talley as Karen
 * Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff
 * Lori Alan as Pearl Krabs
 * Sirena Irwin as:
 * Margaret SquarePants
 * Margie Star
 * Squilvia
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Squire

Development
During production on the third film of The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge, which later became The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, the "Space Cat" storyline was the second pitch by director Paul Tibbitt alongside Kyle McCulloch and writers Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger and Andrew Goodman that was in development in 2015 after the release of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water before it was dropped in 2017. Compared to the final version of Sponge on the Run, this storyline centers around the "science-fiction" genre, described as a "SpongeBob movie in the mold of Independence Day." The plot had originally focused on Gary, originally revealed to be prince of a world inhabited by snails before being evacuating, kidnapped by the Milky Wayfarers who would use him to free Galcatacus and turn the Earth into a giant litter box.

According to Tibbitt and some storyboards, one subplot had Nicolas Cage portraying himself running for President of the United States under the nickname "President Cage" while owning a pet tiger named Fluffy, an army general called Tallenback (portrayed by Jeff Goldblum) and an animal trainer named Terry. Although Nicolas Cage was first considered for the USA President role, he was later replaced by Dwayne Johnson before the idea was eventually dropped. Another subplot had Mr. Krabs, disguised as SpongeBob, opening a "favor truck" and selling favors and compliments to the Bikini Bottomites. David Hasselhoff was also planned to return from the very first film. Executive producer Vincent Waller replied on Twitter about the storyboards that the "I believe that was a first pass at the story, but the entire alien cat storyline was later tossed out and rewritten." In an interview with Sponge on the Run director Tim Hill explained that Paramount had other plans for the plot and the script was "a bit too far-fetched." Tibbitt also chimed in on the dropping of Cage's subplot as it paralleled to Donald Trump.

Upon the announcement of Nicktoons Cinematic Series, Paramount announced the film, under its name SpongeBob and Patrick and the Furry Encounters was in development, with Tibbitt as director, Aibel, Berger and Goodman as screenwriters, and the discovery of Patrick as the main character. Bill Fagerbakke was announced to reprise his role as Patrick, alongside his co-stars Tom Kenny, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, and Carolyn Lawrence. Doug Lawrence, Jill Talley, Mary Jo Catlett, and Lori Alan. A month after the series' cast's return, Tom Hardy, Michael Keaton, Sylvester Stallone, Charlie Day, and Charlize Theron were announced as the film's characters along with Scarlett Johansson and Jeffrey Tambor reprising their roles from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

Animation
The film's animation was provided by Animal Logic, known for animating the Lego Movie film series and DC League of Super-Pets. Its animators were tasked in capturing the series' animation from its fourth to eighth seasons while keeping the nature of the first three seasons in it rather than match the "stop-motion"-like animation Sponge on the Run had done. The studio was also chosen for the sake of the Milky Wayfarers' anatomically correct features in their facial expressions.