Bubble transitions

Bubble transitions in "SpongeHenge"

Bubble transitions, also known as bubble wipes are when one scene changes to another, with bubbles floating across the screen.

Variants

There have sometimes been episodes where the floating bubbles across the screen are replaced with something else.

In "Suds," in the montage of Patrick trying to treat SpongeBob, the transition from one treatment to another treatment is pink bubbles representing bubbles caused by the suds appearing and popping.
In "Valentine's Day," they are replaced with hearts.
In "Texas," they are replaced with a page turning like the scene was a page in a book.
In "Born to Be Wild," SpongeBob breaks the fourth wall by riding on the bubble transition.
In "Greasy Buffoons," the transitioning bubbles are replaced with grease.
In "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!," the transitioning bubbles are replaced with snowflakes and one transitioning scene with coal.
In "Squid Defense," karate chop transitions are used instead of the regular transition.
In "SpongeBob's Place," after Mr. Krabs builds a trench filled with molten lava near the Krusty Krab door, the customers step over him to go to SpongeBob's Place (to which the Krusty Krab moves). After Krabs' plan to keep his customers backfires, the transitioning bubbles to the next scene are replaced with the lava bubbles.
In "There's a Sponge in My Soup," the transitioning bubbles are replaced with paisleys.

"Reef Blower" and "The Sewers of Bikini Bottom" are the only episodes without any bubble transitions after the opening credits.
In "Truth or Square" and the season 9 episodes before "Lost in Bikini Bottom," the sound for bubble transitions are different than the rest of the episodes.
"Tutor Sauce" has 14 bubble transitions, the most out of any episode.