It seems most TV series can be watched online for free now, so why not also stream episodes of a program like ABC's Wonderful World of Disney? Sure each episode is actually a feature-length Disney-made film, but a TV show is a TV show. Fortunately, Disney seems to agree, as they're putting this summer's crop of WWoD films online for free. Typical of Disney, though, and unlike ABC.com's library of episodes, each film will only be available for a limited time. Basically, each title will screen on ABC on Saturday night, then it will be up on Disney.com (specifically the WWoD page) the following week, from Monday through Friday only. Currently, Finding Nemo, which appeared on WWoD June 7, is being offered.

Other movies on the schedule this summer include Monsters Inc., Freaky Friday, The Haunted Mansion, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Peter Pan will be the last to air and then stream, during the first week of August. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the one movie making its world premiere on the program, Camp Rock, will also (or is it only?) stream for 24 hours on June 23, on a separate page, after airing a few times on ABC and ABC Family the weekend prior.

As much as it would make fans of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and the others happy to see them together again, it's not quite an uplifting premise for a Disney Channel movie to see them all fail and have to re-do their Senior Year. Besides, Zac is starting to bring his mainstream, post-Musical career together now, so I would think that it would be hard, if not impossible, to get him back for another installment. Nevertheless, The Hollywood Reporter has posted that the Disney Channel is continuing the series. Silly me, to think that graduation would be the end of it, since High School Musical 3 is, well, "Senior Year."

The Disney Channel is so keen on continuing the series that they've already started working on the next one. Most likely, this will be a new television movie, rather than another big-screen adventure, and they're currently writing the script now. Disney Channel Worldwide president Rich Ross says: "Are we going to have all the cast back? Probably not. Will we have some of them? I hope so." The juniors are now seniors? Freshman now sophomores?

Poor Disney ... They must have been aching at the thought of their High School Musical franchise coming to an end once number 3 hits the big screen. It's been an insane sensation, and certainly good for both the company and channel. But what do you do when it all comes to an end? You could look for new material, or you could spin it.

Variety reports that Walt Disney Pictures has picked Steven Antin (jerky prep Troy from The Goonies) to write and direct a new musical project for them, which will be produced by Scott Sanders (who recently developed The Color Purple musical). The plot and title are being kept under wraps, but they might as well call it High School Musical 4: The Next Generation. Antin says: "It's a music-driven movie set in a high school, geared toward a Disney audience." Gee, how original.

But we just might get a bit of a breather before it comes out. Antin has finished part of the screenplay, and says that this project is "neck and neck" with Burlesque for filming this fall -- he had written the script, and Diablo Cody spunked it up with a rewrite. Either way, we're not out of the musical woods yet. Stay tuned to see who wins the showdown between burlesque and teen singers!

Um, no, not that Lohan. As if Disney would ever take a chance on a gal fresh out of rehab. BUT, they might take a chance on Lohan's little sister, Ali. Oh yes, E! reports that Ali Lohan (Lindsay's 14-year-old sister) is auditioning for a part in High School Musical 3. Word has it she might take on the role of a spoiled little princess; E! says to "think of her as a Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) in training." For this third installment in the ultra-popular Disney franchise, Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) will reunite as high school seniors preparing for college. If you thought there was plenty of singing and dancing before, wait till you get these kids as seniors -- the possibilities are endless!

Thankfully, Ali Lohan is no stranger to singing. Back in 2006, she released her debut album full of Christmas tunes, Lohan Holiday. I tell ya, after hearing about this girl's older sister for the past several months, I'm about ready to take a Lohan holiday too. A part in High School Musical 3 would almost guarantee the minor Lohan a future career in front of the camera (assuming she doesn't hit 18 and go absolutely nutty on us). How do you fans of HSM feel about a Lohan sibling joining the party? Does it pump you up for the new film, or leave a sour taste in your mouth?

For girls of a certain age, the very notion of Zac Efron is enough to send them into peals of ecstasy. Personally, I just don't get it. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Efron (star of High School Musical), has signed to star in the big-screen version of Robert Kaplow's coming-of-age novel, Me and Orson Welles. Efron will play Richard, a 17 year old boy "who, while strolling the streets of New York, happens upon the yet-to-open Mercury Theatre and is noticed by its mercurial founder, Orson Welles. The man lands a bit part in Julius Caesar, the production that catapulted Welles to the top, and spends the next week learning about life and love." Joining Efron in the cast is Christian McKay as Welles and Ben Chaplin as the famed British stage actor George Coulouris.

Richard Linklater is signed to direct from a Vince and Holly Gent Palmo script. The Palmos are long-time collaborators with Linklater; Holly started as a production coordinator on Dazed and Confused, and Vince has worked with Linklater on most of his films. Now that the filmmaker is involved, it could raise Efron's profile as an actor to something a little more challenging than High School Musical 3? 4? How many of those movies are there anyway? Not to mention, regardless of what you may have thought of The Newton Boys, it seems like Linklater would be able to handle another period piece (this one is set in 1937). The story is considered half romance and half history of the Golden Age of Broadway, and could definitely be Efron's shot at being taken a little more seriously as an actor -- as opposed to just a cover boy for "Non-Threatening Boys Magazine." Efron is currently shooting the teen comedy Seventeen, but then he will be off to start work on Welles in mid-February and March.

Well, you can all breathe easy now. After all the hubbub over whether the entire cast of Disney's remarkably successful High School Musical franchise would return for the third film in the series, all the main cast has finally signed on to come back one more time. Variety reports that all six leads -- Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman -- have signed on to return for High School Musical 3, which will hit a theater near you on October 24.

There was concern over whether Vanessa Anne Hudgens, who plays female lead Gabriella, would be back for the third film after some nudie pics she sent to boyfriend (and High School Musical heartthrob) Zac Efron leaked out onto the internet. Then there was concern over whether Disney would fork over enough cash to entice Efron himself to return (and sorry, but you just cannot have High School Musical 3 without Efron asTroy -- the tween girlies of America would unite against that in a hurry), given all the big screen success he's enjoying as a result of his High School Musical fame. Efron had a decent turn as Link Larkin in Hairspray (where he finally got to sing all on his own) and has been in talks on several projects, including upcoming pic Seventeen, (kind of a reverse of Big, one of my favorite movies ever -- remember how young and cute Tom Hanks was in that?) in which he will play a man who returns to being a high school student.

I don't know about you, but I'll sleep easier at night knowing the continuing adventures of the Wildcats gang are coming this fall. I can't think of a better way to come down off the headiness of all those serious films at Telluride and Toronto than to hit a screening of High School Musical 3, and find out what happens when Troy and Gabriella head to different colleges. Oh, boy! The possibilities (and opportunities to randomly break out into song-and-dance numbers) are practically endless. If you've got a tween in your life, you'd better start practicing your cool dance moves, and get ready to have more annoyingly-perky-yet-catchy tunes stuck in your head.

I always get a tad excited when it comes time for a Disney kid to leave the nest. Over the years, we've watched some Disney kids grow up to have tremendous careers (Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell). Then there are those who, well, are about one nut away from the loony bin (Britney Spears). Now a new crop of the Mouse crew are growing up and getting ready to branch out into various big-screen areas. We're talking kids like Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale and, of course, Vanessa "Take My Picture" Hudgens. Recently, the drama hit Hudgens a few years early when nude photos of the gal were leaked online, prompting everyone to wonder whether Disney would cut ties with her prior to completing their High School Musical franchise. So far they haven't done that, and Hudgens is currently expected to appear in High School Musical 3, but other offers are starting to trickle in and she's jumping on them.

The Hollywood Reporter tells us Hudgens has signed on to co-star in a new coming-of-age dramedy called Will. Calm down there boys, she's not going hardcore just yet; it seems the gal will remain in the friendly teen world for now. The film tells of a "high school outcast and a popular girl who form an unlikely bond through their shared love of music. They assemble a like-minded crew of misfits and form a rock group to perform in a battle of the bands competition at their school." HR says Hudgens will play "Sam, a 15-year-old former stutterer now speaking slowly and deliberately, who becomes romantically entangled with the lead outcast." So it sounds like she's playing the popular girl, though they emphasize this stuttering issue, so I don't know. The film was written by Todd Graff and Josh Cagan, with Graff (Camp) taking on directorial duties. Will is scheduled to begin shooting next month in Austin.

Just a few more shopping days left until Christmas, and I'm just about done. We always get a couple DVDs for the kids stockings. When the sugar high from all the cookies and candy has worn off, there's nothing better than a new DVD (or two) to settle the kids down and give the grown-ups a little much-needed quiet time (or time to watch those movies Santa left in our own Christmas stockings ...). If you're looking for a few things to round out your own shopping, here are seven sure-to-please DVDs for kids of various ages:

High School Musical/High School Musical 2 -- If you have a tween girl in your house, all things High School Musical are likely at or near the top of your list. Disney knocked the ball out of the park with the resounding success of this musical for kids last year, and followed it up with High School Musical 2 (I liked the first one better, but my kids like them both). While the High School Musical films may not be that well-reviewed critically, these DVDs (trust me on this) top the Christmas lists of tweens and teens everywhere. Just be prepared to watch them over and over again, until the song "We're All in This Together" is permanently embedded in your brain and you want to claw your eyes out find yourself singing it in the shower while you practice your cool dance moves. Psst ... I hear Erik Davis knows all the lyrics and dance steps by heart, and he doesn't even have kids.

With its concentration on the music industry, it's easy to forget that the Grammys have a few movie-related categories. They include best compilation soundtrack album, best score soundtrack album and best song written for motion picture, television or other visual media. One thing that's always odd with the Grammys, though, is how many nominees are so old. Take a look at the score/composer nominees, for example: Babel (Gustavo Santaolalla); Blood Diamond (James Newton Howard); The Departed (Howard Shore); Happy Feet (John Powell); Pan's Labyrinth (Javier Navarrete); Ratatouille (Michael Giacchino). Only the last of those films came out in 2007. But the eligibility period for the Grammys is always October of the previous year until the end of September of the current year. All but Ratatouille's soundtrack were released in October, November and December of 2006. Since the Grammy ceremony is only a couple weeks prior to the Oscars, the ancient films honored are easily seen as that much more old news (Babel won the 2007 Academy Award for score).

Happy Feet was also recognized in the best song category, for "The Song of My Heart" by Prince (who already has the best soundtrack of all time), despite its not having received an Oscar nomination. Same goes for one of its competitors, Casino Royale theme song "You Know My Name", co-written (with David Arnold) and performed by Chris Cornell. Dreamgirls' "Love You I Do", written by Siedah Garrett and Henry Krieger (performed by Jennifer Hudson) is the only overlap from last February's Oscar nominees (it lost to Melissa Etheridge's "I Need to Wake Up" from An Inconvenient Truth). The other recognized tracks, both from 2007 releases, are Eddie Vedder's "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild and Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's duet "Falling Slowly" from Once.

Once is also a contender for best compilation soundtrack, though it faces a huge challenger in The Beatles, who are recognized for the album for the Cirque du Soleil show Love (how does that fall into this category and not the one for musical show album?) and indirectly for the soundtrack to the movie Across the Universe, which features covers of the band's tunes performed by the movie's cast. Other soundtrack nominees are retro musicals Dreamgirls and Hairspray. Sorry, fans of High School Musical 2.

It's been over a month since those nude photos of High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens leaked online, and practically everyone had forgotten about them ... with the exception of a few lonely guys who use them for, um, research. Not long after the photos were revealed, it was believed that Disney would stand behind Hudgens and keep her onboard their High School Musical bus for at least one more film. Well, looks like they may have changed their minds. According to OK! Magazine, Disney has officially dumped Hudgens and will not ask her to star alongside Zac Efron in a High School Musical 3.

A moment of silence for the fans ...

Here's what their "inside" source had to say: "Disney finally decided that they don't want her back. They feel that as long as Zac Efron is in the movie, all will be fine. He's the real star - the household name - and, most importantly, he comes without baggage." Sounds a little gossipy to me, but then again it's OK! Magazine. OK! (Ya know, that exclamation point is supposed to tell you they mean business -- OK!?) The magazine goes on to say that "one of the Cheetah Girls -- Adrienne Baillon, 23, or possibly 23-year-old Sabrina Bryan -- will take Vanessa's place." Oh, and then there's this part: "The producers think that after Dancing With the Stars, Sabrina will be more famous than Vanessa." Really? The producers said that? And did they say that during recess on the jungle gym, or what? Until we get word from Disney regarding this major development, I'd consider this strictly a rumor for now, and, regardless, I'm sure Hudgens won't have to go without any offers for long. Paging Brett Ratner's Hugh Hefner biopic -- there's a girl you should consider ...

UPDATE: Hudgens' rep has denied these claims, saying they're "totally untrue." A Disney spokesperson says Hudgens is still in the running, and they're currently "still in negotiations with all the High School Musical stars."