Viacom's Paramount Pictures will release a SpongeBob SquarePants movie in late 2014 as it looks to kick its animation output into a higher gear, Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman said Tuesday. "We will be releasing a SpongeBob movie at the end of 2014, which will serve to start off or be one of our films that starts off our new animation effort," he told a Deutsche Bank media and telecom investor conference in Palm Beach, Fla. His appearance was webcast. Paramount announced the formation of its new animation unit last July with a target of one release starting in 2014. It has previously not mentioned a specific project. However, Paramount picked up rights to Penny Arcade's science fiction comic New Kid in June and is planning an adaptation of it. The studio tapped The Book of Eli writer Gary Whitta to pen the script and Mary Parent and Cale Boyter are producing via their Paramount-based Disruption Entertainment. Paramount has distributed animation fare